Published on the occasion of the exhibition Johannes Phokela - I like my neighbours, at the Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, 3 February - 21 March 2009.
Summary:
Soweto born Phokela, is a singular artist. Most famous for his reinterpretation of the work of Dutch Old Masters during the Dutch golden age, he is undeniably brilliant at what he does and has redefined the idea of the artist as social commentator. What is most striking, is the layers of narration Johannes Phokela expertly works into his paintings for the viewer to unpack like babushka dolls. He adds perspective to the Dutch Paintings by inserting the head of a black man into a cage of what was a boisterous family gathering in As the Old Ones Sing, so the Young Ones Pipe. He shows the cost to those who were exploited to fund the Golden Age of the colonialists over and over again.
