Steven “Joff” Carter, the Port Elizabeth graffiti artist who has breathed new life into abandoned structures around the city in recent years will hold a solo exhibition of his work at Ark in the Baakens Valley next week.
The exhibition, which will be open to the public from Wednesday November 7, will be housed in a temporary gallery space called Gallery Ark.
It will run until November 21 from 10am to 7pm on weekdays and from 10am to 1pm on Saturdays.
Known largely for his arresting street art, such as the large, colourful creations that dominate Valley Road, Carter has decided to share his studio-based work with the public in a series called When We Were There.
“The series depicts the fragility of the human body and the haunting experience of coming face-to-face with it,” he said.
“Hearing the words your doctor thinks you’re dying; being bed-ridden for a year and spending another three years recovering gives you pause.
“It changes you and it changes the world for you. It gives us time to grapple with our vulnerability and transience as a species and as individuals. We mourn and fear death but often ignore the unlikely and fleeting miracle of life.”
The series was a form of meditation, he said: “On illness, on unwelcome experiences with death, on the relative insignificance of human beings on a grand universal scale, and on how all of this makes it that much more important to treat each other with care.”
Carter said there would also be a second stage to the exhibition on Tuesday November 13.
“There will be a music show of songs I wrote during the same period of creating the artwork on display, and it will be performed by my band, Joff and the Cults.”
The exhibition is at 68 Upper Valley Road, and the opening is at 7pm on Wednesday.
Remo’s Italian in nearby Alabaster Street, also in the valley, will be the venue for part two of When We Were There, at 7pm on November 13.
A limited number of tickets at R80 each are available for the intimate music show and bookings are at www.webtickets.co.za
For more information about the exhibition and music show, contact Carter on 079-316-3630.