joeturpinart

[joeturpinart]

Jewess From Johannesburg (2024) – 550mm x 800mm, Oil, charcoal on canvas

[joeturpinart]

The State of Things (2024) – 400mm x 400mm x 2200mm, polvin, aerosol on concrete

Shown at 'Striking Roots', my solo exhibition at Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre in Zambia (August - September 2024) & produced as part of my residency and research there. 🇿🇲 🕎

[joeturpinart]

I am so pleased to have been invited to create new works for this group show at No End Contemporary Art Space in Johannesburg !

"Our next exhibition ‘Fiction’ opens on the 26th of April.

The upcoming exhibition considers: Is all art a form of fiction?

Art, like fiction, constructs worlds, invents narratives, and reinterprets reality - whether through illusion, symbolism, or direct storytelling. Artists fabricate meaning by blurring the line between truth and invention, a technique often utilised in literary fiction.

This exhibition invited artists to explore how fiction operates within visual art.

How can the visual medium bring the imaginary elements of fiction — characters, worlds, events — to life?

Can an artwork convey a story with a beginning, middle, and end, or does it challenge linear storytelling?

Artists were encouraged to create their own ‘fiction artwork’ to present to an audience: Artists could explore fiction as literal storytelling, abstract invention, or conceptual fabrication. Alternatively, artists had the option to draw inspiration from existing fiction: Reinterpreting texts, myths, or speculative narratives."

[joeturpinart]

THE MENORAH AND THE MAKISHI 2024 – 1350mm x 1650mm, acrylic on canvas

Shown at 'Striking Roots', my solo exhibition at Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre in Zambia (August - September 2024) & produced as part of my residency and research there. 🇿🇲 🕎

[joeturpinart]

Sitting at The Oasis (Albert Memmi, Myself, Nadine Gordimer, Simon Zukas) 2024 – 2110mm x 1310mm, acrylic on canvas

Shown at 'Striking Roots', my solo exhibition at Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre in Zambia (August - September 2024) & produced as part of my residency and research there.

The figures I am seated with in this composition, a philosopher, a writer and a political activist, are all Jewish Africans - whose prose has each influenced me, and the societies they came from, in profound ways.

Two years ago I ended my Master's Thesis by describing how I felt alone in my thinking, and my positionality, but that Albert Memmi sat with me at this oasis in a desert, and how over time, others may join us there.

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Chitenge Commemoration I, II & III (2024) – 1600mm x 1000mm each, dutch wax print.

Collections of Lechwe Arts Trust & Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre.

My idea was since in 20th century African commemorations, statesmen, leaders, presidents and politicians were sometimes portrayed and printed with dutch wax prints, in a heraldic manner. In my own home, and in museum collections around the world, such fabrics are collected and considered valuable. Did one of Simon Zukas exist? The white, Jewish anti-colonial hero of Zambia? If it did, I wanted to locate it. If it didn't, I wanted to create it. I couldn't find any existing Chitenges, as they are known in Zambia, with his face and name on it. It is likely they are made for presidential candidates only, when election time comes around, although many exist emblazoned with the face of Kenneth Kuanda.

I produced these Chitenge's in honour of Simon Zukas, and his contribution to the anti-colonial, anti-federation movements in Zambia. His late wife Cynthia got to see them, and one was collected by Lechwe Arts Trust, one by Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre, and one is in my own collection.

Exhibited at 'Striking Roots', Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre (August - September 2024).

[joeturpinart]

Dancer and Pot (2024) – 1000mm x 2000mm, Charcoal on polyester cotton blend, bamboo

Shown at my solo exhibition 'Striking Roots' at Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre, Zambia

Produced during my residency at LuCAC (July - August 2024)

[joeturpinart]

The Failed Attempt at Making An African Golem, (2024) – New Media Installation & 1 Hour Performance. Stones, terracotta clay, Chokwe mask, copper rod, charcoal, football jersey, acrylic, Documentation Single Channel Video (34:38)

In Jewish folklore, mythology and the Kabbalah, the Golem is a protective figure, brought to be animated and typically made from clay, by rigorous spiritual chanting and meditation. As time passed, mainstream German cinema and antisemitic propaganda represented the Golem as a 'Monster' who marauds and kills christian communities. While seeking a restorative image of the Golem, true to it's cultural purpose, I started to wonder what an African Golem would look like? Seeing as similar sculptural protective figures have always existed in multiple autonomous African cultures.

However, the production is one doomed to fail. On the one hand, to bring a Golem into the world, usually a Rabbi performs this task, and has to have extensive practice and hours of trans-like adherence to Kaballah. On the other hand, the use of a wooden Chokwe mask brings with it indigenous knowledge systems, neither of which I possess. The performance and resulting sculpture is therefore a gesture of making in and of the diaspora.

Produced and performed at Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre in Zambia, and exhibited there for my solo exhibition 'Striking Roots' (August - September 2024). 🇿🇲

Link to performance: https://youtu.be/TTfvmkwpWYI

[joeturpinart]

Opposition To Federation, (2024) – Acrylic on 3x canvas panels (100mm x 100mm, 280mm x 280mm, 200mm x 200mm)

Shown at my solo exhibition 'Striking Roots' at Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre, Zambia

Produced during my residency at LuCAC (July - August 2024)

This work is inspired by the white, Jewish position in African anti-colonial struggles. Thinking of Simon & Cynthia Zukas; Joe Slovo & Ruth First amongst many others.

[joeturpinart]

Marker of Presence (2024) - Single Channel Video Piece (00:11)

Shown at my exhibition 'Striking Roots', and produced as part of my residency at Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre in Zambia. The video depicts the Jewish custom of placing stones on a grave, as opposed to flowers. This is a sign of visitation but also because the stones last longer than flowers. I visited the resting place of Simon Ber Zukas, at Leopard Hill Memorial Park in Lusaka, to pay respect, to introduce myself, and to tell him I was in Zambia to research his life and make art about him.

[joeturpinart]

Works on paper from my time in Zambia. An Exploration of Observations (2024) – 360mm x 420mm, Ink, Watercolour, Graphite, Office Pins on Paper, (Collaboration With Sabeen Omar); Positional Refusal (2024) – 360mm x 420mm, Ink, Watercolour, Graphite on Paper; Winds Of Change (Bleeding Leaves) (2024) – 420mm x 360mm, Watercolour on Paper; Hair (Garden of Eden) (2024) – 420mm x 360mm, Watercolour on Paper; Lusaka Mango Tree (2024) – 420mm x 360mm, Charcoal on Paper; In The End (2024) – 360mm x 420mm, Watercolour on Paper; Can The Reverse Not Also Be True? (2024) – 420mm x 360mm; Watercolour, Graphite, Ink And Acrylic on Paper.All are available for purchase! Enquire for price. These works were shown at my solo exhibition ‘Striking Roots’, Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre, Zambia (August – September 2024).

[joeturpinart]

I Didn’t Sit Shiva For You 2024 – New Media Installation & 7 Hour Endurance Performance, South African Jewish Museum, Cape Town. Documentation Video (09:31) - https://youtu.be/BvcEDYB3r3w?si=odEwS-j8EM74PWYb

The title of the artwork "I Didn't Sit Shiva For You" encapsulates Turpin's candid introspection regarding the absence of the customary Jewish mourning ritual after his mother's passing.

Sitting shiva is a solemn and deeply ingrained tradition in Judaism, observed by mourners following the passing of a loved one. Derived from the Hebrew word for "seven," shiva typically lasts for seven days, during which close relatives gather in the home of the deceased to mourn and receive condolences from visitors. The primary purpose of shiva is to provide comfort and support to the bereaved, allowing them to grieve openly and honour the memory of the departed. Throughout this period, mourners may engage in symbolic practices to express their grief and respect for the deceased. These practices may include covering mirrors, refraining from shaving, and sitting on low stools or removing cushions. The ritual of kriah involves the tearing of one's garment. It is typically done before the funeral by the immediate family of the deceased as a symbolic act of grief and loss. The torn garment is worn throughout the shiva period.

Additionally, traditional prayers, reflection, and the recitation of psalms often accompany the gatherings, fostering a sense of communal support and spiritual solace during a time of loss.

THE PERFORMANCE

"I Didn't Sit Shiva For You" unfolds as a symbolic tribute spanning seven hours, each hour representing a day of mourning. This deliberate departure from tradition, both in duration and setting, serves as a poignant expression of Turpin's personal narrative and artistic vision. Under the mentorship of esteemed artist Carlos Motta, Turpin embarks on a creative exploration aimed at grappling with the significance of shiva, memory and cultural tradition. Turpin's artistic journey intertwines with his quest for reconciliation and understanding. Drawing from personal experience and artistic insight, Turpin delves into the depths of loss and remorse through the evocative medium of performance art.

"I was a 16-year-old disconnected from my religious and cultural roots. Our household wasn't steeped in tradition, and I, a rebellious adolescent, paid little heed to such customs. Hence, when my mother departed, the observance of shiva eluded us. It wasn't a deliberate refusal; rather, it mirrored our detachment and unpreparedness to undertake its solemn rituals. However, the awareness of this tradition haunted me, akin to shattered mirrors reflecting my guilt. Over the twelve years since her passing, I've grappled with profound remorse for not honouring my mother with the rituals of shiva, especially as I've rekindled my appreciation for my Jewish heritage."

[joeturpinart]

AmaZulu aseBordeaux, (2024) - 1050mm x 1400mm, Oil on Canvas.

Shown at the South African Jewish Museum in Cape Town, for my solo exhibition 'Set in Stone'. (May - July 2024).

A self portrait, alongside the figures of Romain Folz and Joseph Dweba, people who have links to the cities of Bordeaux, France and Durban, South Africa.

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After Charles Henri Joseph Cordier (Blanc) (2023) – 914mm x 762mm, Oil, oil stick on Belgian Linen 🤍🩶

Shown at the South African Jewish Museum in Cape Town, for my solo exhibition 'Set in Stone'. (May - July 2024)

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After Charles Henri Joseph Cordier (Noir) 2023 – 914mm x 762mm, Oil, oil stick on Belgian Linen

Shown at the South African Jewish Museum in Cape Town, for my solo exhibition 'Set in Stone'. (May - July 2024)

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After Charles Henri Joseph Cordier, (2023) – 610mm x 508mm, Oil, oil stick on Belgian Linen.

Shown at the South African Jewish Museum in Cape Town, for my solo exhibition 'Set in Stone'. (May - July 2024)

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Cabinet (2023) -measurements variable 9x Glass Bottles, acrylic and aerosol on silk

Shown most recently at the South African Jewish Museum in Cape Town, for my solo exhibition 'Set in Stone'. (May - July 2024) Previously exhibited at NWU Gallery, North West University for 'When the Dust Settles' (July - September 2023).