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Athi-Patra Ruga – Of Gods, Rainbows and Omissions

Athi-Patra Ruga, The Night of the Long Knives I, 2013, Archival Inkjet Print on Photorag Baryta Paper, 150 x 190 cm. Courtesy WHATIFTHEWORLD 

Athi-Patra Ruga – Of Gods, Rainbows and Omissions

4 Oct 2018 – 7 Jan 2019

Somerset House and 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair are proud to present the first major solo UK exhibition of internationally renowned South African artist Athi-Patra Ruga. The exhibition reveals a mythical world which challenges perceptions of cultural identity and parodies the construction of the post-apartheid South African nation state. For the first time, Ruga bring together three seminal bodies of work – The Future White Women of Azania, Queens in Exile and The Beatification of Feral Benga – showcasing his diverse multidisciplinary practice. The exhibition will run until 7 January 2019.

Born in Umtata, South Africa and now based in Cape Town, Ruga is the figurehead for a new generation of South African artists. Throughout his career, Ruga has adopted avatars and created characters through whom he addresses ideologies, social and state structures, and the politics of gender inequality. By adopting these characters, Ruga has been empowered to confront the complex truths of his nation’s colonial history, post-colonial present, and his own personal experiences as a queer Xhosa man.

Somerset House
Strand, WC2R 1LA
London
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7845 4600
www.somersethouse.org.uk

Selected Exhibitors

WHATIFTHEWORLD

ARTLabAfrica

Tyburn Gallery

Nú Barreto – Etats Désunis d’Afrique!/Criblés

Gastineau Massamba – Chaos

(S)ITOR / Sitor Senghor

October Gallery

Larry Achiampong – Ain’t No Place Like Home

Galleries Special Projects
  • (S)ITOR / Sitor Senghor
  • 50 Golborne
  • Addis Fine Art
  • ADN Galeria
  • AFRONOVA GALLERY
  • AGorgi Gallery
  • Art Bärtschi & Cie
  • ARTCO Gallery
  • ARTLabAfrica
  • Beardsmore Gallery
  • Burning in Water
  • Circle Art Gallery
  • Ed Cross Fine Art
  • Galerie Anne de Villepoix
  • Galerie Cécile Fakhoury
  • Galerie Mikael Andersen
  • Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris / Brussels
  • Gallery 1957
  • Gallery Nosco
  • Gallery of African Art (GAFRA)
  • HUBERTY & BREYNE GALLERY
  • Jack Bell Gallery
  • James Cohan
  • Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery
  • Lawrie Shabibi
  • Loft Art Gallery
  • MAGNIN–A
  • Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art
  • MOVART
  • October Gallery
  • Officine dell’Immagine
  • Primo Marella Gallery
  • Retro Africa
  • Selma Feriani Gallery
  • SMAC
  • SMO Contemporary Art
  • Sulger-Buel Lovell
  • Tiwani Contemporary
  • Tyburn Gallery
  • Vigo Gallery
  • VOICE gallery
  • WHATIFTHEWORLD
  • Yossi Milo Gallery
  • 1-54 Courtyard Commission
  • 1-54 Lounge Commission
  • Athi-Patra Ruga – Of Gods, Rainbows and Omissions
  • Emma Willemse – Rupture
  • Gastineau Massamba – Chaos
  • Larry Achiampong – Ain’t No Place Like Home
  • Leasho Johnson and Monique Gilpin – Required Reading
  • Nando’s with Spier Art Trust
  • Nú Barreto – Etats Désunis d’Afrique!/Criblés
  • Robert Saint-Brice – ART + REVOLUTION IN HAÏTI

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