Drawing for City Deep (Woman with Pan)

William Kentridge
Drawing for City Deep (Woman with Pan), 2019
Charcoal and red pencil on paper
Work: 78.5 x 107 cm

Drawing for City Deep is a charcoal and red pencil drawing made as part of Kentridge’s film City Deep. The film is the 11th in Kentridge’s Drawings for Projection series, a collection of animated films drawn over 30 years, featuring the protagonist Soho Eckstein. The work explores South Africa’s political transition from the violent years of apartheid to democracy, paying particular attention to the saga of loss, love, anger, compassion, guilt and forgiveness. The films revolve around the power-hungry mining magnate Soho Eckstein, his wife Mrs. Eckstein and her lover, the solitary artist Felix Teitlebaum. As the story unfolds, Soho’s empire crumbles as he comes to terms with his own frailties and the first signs of mortality.