#athipatraruga

[supportblackart]

@athipatra 🙏🏾 The Versatile Queen Ivy in Exile with her Pantheon of avatars. 2017 #bigdickenergy . . #supportblackart #athipatraruga #southafricanart #tapestry #performanceart #blackmagic #blackart #blackexcellence #saart #artislife #southafrican #southafricanartist #artlove #artlovers #africanamazing #versatility https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnm09TWFruY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=14r0dzmy7qeh1

[whoistayla]

Athi-Patra Ruga

Athi-Patra Ruga is a South African artist whose use of performance, video, tapestries & weaving, as well as other varieties of mixed mediums, takes the viewer to a utopia (or dystopia) unlike any other. 

Born in 1984 in Umtata, Eastern Cape and having experienced the conservative apartheid regime in South Africa himself, his work has a very new response to the post-apartheid era, identity and gender.

Rugas work takes a very alternative direction, which adds to why he is such a master in his chosen practice as a contemporary artist. Themes explored in his vast body of work range between the apartheid era, gender and identity, femininity, homosexuality, myths and alternate realities.  These works all include the common factor of self-reflectivity & non-conformity; where political, cultural and social systems can be reconsidered & investigated by the viewer.

What seems to stand out of the exhibition ‘Queens in Exile’ is use of colour and how is helps one connect with the work & understand it from a more in depth perspective. Throughout his work, Ruga uses rather outlandish items of clothing on his characters, with fearless use of bold & striking colours to depict the a world where cultural identity is no longer determined strictly by ones geographical, ancestry or biological roots. But rather determined by a mixture of all three, and then some.

[thearttrotter]

Pretty cool sculptural work with an interesting purpose 👇👇 by Athi-Patra Ruga (1984), South Africa. "Proposed model for Tseko Simon Nkoli Memorial" (2017). This work raises question about memorialisation and who we choose as a society to remember in the public realm. ➡️ How do you think the matter of memorialisation is handeled? Mixed media: high-density foam, artificial flowers and jewels, perspex, lightbulbs. #art #sculpture #zeitzmocaa #AthiPatraRuga #southafricanart #contemporaryart #samtidskunst #samtidskonst #современноеискусство #artblogger #arttrotter #thearttrotter (at Zeitz MOCAA) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvPLuKhAOBN/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1mbkkuvx80lj0

[thethinginthebag]

So glad to see @athipatraruga get a complete installation @thearmoryshow #athipatraruga #whatiftheworld #armoryshow #contemporaryafricanart #artist #contemporaryartist #tapestry (at The Armory Show)

[robbialy]

Regram from @somersethouse ••• In our second exhibition opening this week, South African artist #AthiPatraRuga transports you to the shimmering, mythical world of #Azania - a dreamlike vision of an imagined Africa for those omitted from the collective imagination, filled with a cast of extraordinary characters and #queer icons. • See photography, tapestry, film and sculpture from three major bodies of work for free until 6 January, part of the Charles Russell Speechlys #TerraceRoomSeries and open now as part of #154artfair 🌈 https://www.instagram.com/p/BpM9N4MhdYOjWZbrQRAuhW5iracghlz2zuf9Eg0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9fo5h6x0fl6e

[blackradicalmuseumenthusiasm]

GO FOLLOW @legacybros 🖤🖤🖤—— ”Original caption: “South African artist @AthiPatra is giving power to the oppressed, marginalized, and omitted in a special exhibition at @154artfair this week. The show features bold photographs, tapestries, videos, and performances, all building to “At the End of the Rainbow, We Look Back,” the glittering new work pictured here. Explore the exhibition alongside works by 130+ artists from Africa and its diaspora through this Sunday at Somerset House in London. • - Courtesy of @artsy #154artfair #AthiPatraRuga #SomersetHouse #southafrica #blackart #queerart #contemporaryart” ——————- #blackradicalmuseumenthusiasm #museum #diaspora #tapestry #staywoke #staywokeloveart https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo2bN0jg3XP/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11illf49p1lpy

[llemaoana]

#Repost @seankellyny with @get_repost ・・・ Join us tomorrow evening for the #ADAAChelseaGalleryWalk! 🚶🏽‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Start your tour with us at 6pm for a curator led walk through of group our show Ravelled Threads, a thematic exhibition of recent work by ten artists from Africa who utilize fabric to create textiles, weavings, embroidery, performances and installations. All participating galleries will be open late until 8pm! . Be sure to share all your visits on instagram! Gallery Walk visitors can enter to win a tote bag full of art books and exhibition catalogues by posting photos of their experience on #Instagram with the hashtag #ADAAChelseaGalleryWalk. A winner will be selected from those who visit and post from the most #ADAA galleries during the event. To be eligible, photos must be posted by 12 noon on July 19. . #RavelledThreads #IgshaanAdams #JoëlAndrianomearisoa #AyanFarah #AboubakarFofana #AlexandraKarakashian #AbdoulayeKonaté #LawrenceLemaoana #SenzeniMarasela #ZohraOpoku #AthiPatraRuga. #ADAAgalleries @the_adaa

[charlaharlow]

Part VIIII: @athipatra at @thearmoryshow • #athipatraruga #southafricanartist #southafrica #africanart #africanartist #africa #blackartist #blackart #contemporaryart #fineart #armoryshow #newyorkcity #armoryweek #artscene #art #artdealer #artcollector #artcurator (at The Armory Show)

[freethenickel]

“Queens in Exile”- AP-R (Review)

Athis works deal with the mythical and utopian. He creates lands which function as a flexible lens through which we can view topics and matters that might not be fully understood if approached head on. Continued from "Future White Women of Azania" we see lush vegetation and wild creatures represented alongside the figures shown in tapestries (this could represent peoples stereotypes of 'African Lands'). Many of these figures are represented by Athi himself, acting as a grounding doorway into the work. He is represented by figures that take many forms: wrapped in blankets, sitting upon a throne or the recurring image of the bandaged figure. The work all is depicted through massive and excellently pieced together tapestries. A fragile medium that falls unnaturally to the right, this could even be looked into to represent transformation in self or shifting perspectives which I believe to be an underlying theme of the show. He uses and has previously used the concept of mythical utopia as a tool of self and outward reflection, processing with genius and creativity. His mythos uses many metaphors continued between shows, for example: 'Song of Atonement" is a work that references 'Nongqawuse Island' which is one of Athis previous images for Robben Island, the work itself is an IsiXhosa Song dealing with empowerment and braveness in the face of evil. The title 'Queens of Exile' is extremely fitting as the show creates a mythical place for 'queens in exile' (Ostracised drag queens or members of the LGBTQ community). Parallel to this the title actually is a reference to Sylvia Rivera's book: "Queens in Exile' The Forgotten Ones." Sylvia Rivera was an inspiration to much of Athis work, Rivera being a self-identified drag queen who founded the Gay-Liberation Front, Gay Activist Alliance and the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries. The tapestries depict maps of the Athis world and the medium itself is intelligent in its depiction of contrast. The figures in the tapestries demand eye contact, enticing the audience to engage with the work, creating a space where one may feel comforted or alienated - causing self reflection even in the audience. The use of psychedelic  colours that seem to 'drip through' the works further imply the mythical nature of the subject matter depicted. The tapestries also have a running motif of including water, this may be seen as a representation of transformation and fluidity.

Walking upstairs, the video begins. Lights darken as we look upon an immense screen. We see Athi, clothed in drag at a dress up table, two lit mirrors look into Athi as narration murmurs, this table set creates the imagery that this is taking place "before the show is about to begin", (further continuing the theme of self-reflection and identity shifting.) As we follow Athi walk out along fluorescent lines which create the imagery of a catwalk we seem him turn to face us. We realise that we are his audience and that this is directed at us. As the audio bounces and shatters it transforms as Athi begins to dance, video cutting off and on creating a discomfort or unsurity, allowing for various perceptions. Athi begins dancing - a show of expression and comfort, acceptance. As this goes on we see flashing images mirroring Athi however a violent red and black- creating a sense of fear -potentially representing the potential for vicious and violent perceptions of this freedom of expression from an outsider to this mythical land represented. As the video continues we see Patra-Rugas face masked with identity documents and black and white photos of pre-2000 drag queens. Athi stands as a flagship for the collective identity, speaking on their behalf. The video piece continues; we see four  figures, dressed in elizabethan style clothing (typical of what was expected of African women in Western culture for a time) with faces hidden. Perhaps these figures without individual identity represent the culture of this mythical space. This cuts to Athi in full body bandages, the figures circle him as he looks into the camera. The bandages have crudely drawn anatomical drawings that don't specify sex. Perhaps this is a representation of gender fluidity. As the figures unravel his bandages eye contact is kept. Standing alone now we see ahi unraveled, music transforms more towards a gospelesque nature as arms are raised. Showing power. Showing pride. A land for Queens.

[reneeroyale-blog]

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A post shared by 🇧🇧 the plug 🔌 (@reneeroyale)

Via @supportblackart: Athi-Patra Ruga's @athipatra Queens in Exile and the film Over The Rainbow is now showing @whatiftheworld_gallery until 27 January 2018. 📽 . . . #supportblackart #athipatraruga #queensinexile #film #art #blackart #videoart #southafrica #contemporaryart #artgallery #artshow #artexhibit #artsy #artgram #artlover #artcollector #africanart #veryblack #southafrican #southafricanart #southafricanartist #artfilm #contemporaryartist #artoninstagram

[tasteletssee]

'Proposed Model for Tseko Simon Nkoli Memorial', 2017 | Sculptor: @athipatra | @whatiftheworld_gallery | @ct_artfair Vernissage | #ctaf17 #CapeTown #TasteLetsSee #athipatraruga #SouthAfrica #ArtFair #ctartfair2017 #CTArtFair (at Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC))

[supportblackart]

Excellent art by @athipatra 🙌🏾 The Versatile Queen Ivy Performance Avatar 2013-Present 📷 Hayden Phipps #QueensInExile . . #supportblackart #athipatraruga #performanceart #tapestry #southafricanart #artsy #artlovers #contemporaryart #artofvisuals #blackart #livingart #betheart #performanceartist #artgram #artworld #veryblack #blkcreatives #blavity #artstagram #artdaily #artisttowatch #artoninstagram

[thearttrotter]

Pretty cool sculptural work with an interesting purpose 👇👇 by Athi-Patra Ruga (1984), South Africa. "Proposed model for Tseko Simon Nkoli Memorial" (2017). This work raises question about memorialisation and who we choose as a society to remember in the public realm. ➡️ How do you think the matter of memorialisation is guided? Mixed media: high-density foam, artificial flowers and jewels, perspex, lightbulbs. #art #sculpture #zeitzmocaa #AthiPatraRuga #southafricanart #contemporaryart #samtidskunst #samtidskonst #современноеискусство #artblogger #arttrotter #thearttrotter (at Zeitz MOCAA) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvPLuKhAOBN/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=rve3d5lo4948

[thethinginthebag]

@athipatra ruga in his studio with portrait of self in one of their many manifestations. Beautiful ambitious new work I'm not allowed to show. Everyone must come in November to @whatiffheworldgallery to see it #athipatraruga #whatiffheworld #contemporaryafricanart #contemporaryartist (at Cape Town, Western Cape)

[londonartandfood-blog]

The Lands of Azania, ATHI-PATRARUGA: RAINBOWS AND OMISSIONS, Somerset House, still on @athipatraruga #rainbows #somersethouse (at Somerset House) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrHmeFEhBEQ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1wflg771423xo

[artsology]

Detail of “Votive Portrait Of Feral Benga, circa 1937,” 2018, by Athi-Patra Ruga. Made with wool and thread on a tapestry canvas. #portrait #feralbenga #wool #tapestry #athipatraruga #thearmoryshow (at The Armory Show)