in 2017, through the Collections Fund at Frieze, the Contemporary Art Society acquired South African artist Dineo Seshee Bopape’s installation Sedibeng (it comes with the rain) (2016). In her work Bopape addresses topics of politics, race, spirituality, gender and sexuality. She looks to the land for inspiration, her work reflecting how one’s geographical location informs identity and memory. It is perhaps not surprising, given her South African heritage, that she is invested in the specifics of land, colonial histories, ecology and representation. But what is singular in her working process is how she creates a range of associations that explore powerful socio-political and metaphysical notions of fertility, land, resistance, Afro-diasporic spiritual aesthetics and practices. Her work engages with the complex set of relationships and tensions embedded in land that from the beginning has been at the heart of Towner’s Collection.
Sedibeng (it comes with the rain) consists of various objects and materials connected to fertility and the cosmos. Abstracted, archetypal metal symbols of masculinity and femininity are connected with chains of letters, black feathers and herbs, traditionally used to heal ailments of the uterus. The walls of the installation are dotted with stickers of native African flowers. Overhead projectors and mirrors cast light and shadows, and a slide projection shows a woman’s hand forming clay balls and imprints. The clamour of the installation destabilises the everyday objects, inviting the viewer to reconsider their purpose. The installation was presented at Frieze London by Sfeir-Semler Gallery in 2017 and was purchased at the fair.
Towner Art Gallery, now Towner Eastbourne has a significant collection of works that explore notions of the ‘edge in landscape’, including those by Yael Bartana, Tacita Dean, Olafur Eliasson, Omer Fast and Isaac Julien. The museum is located on the southern coast of England, along the constantly changing boundary between land and sea. The Contemporary Art Society’s Collections Fund was set up in 2012 and has worked in partnership with Frieze London since 2016. This scheme supports the acquisition of significant contemporary works for Contemporary Art Society Museum Members across the UK. It aims to draw together the knowledge, experience, and expertise of private collectors with that of museum curators.
