Paul Maheke Turn The Tide: Redo, 2021 Ferric chloride on copper Work: 40 x 30 cm
Turn The Tide: Redo forms part of a body of work presented in Maheke’s first solo exhibition with the gallery in Johannesburg; Vanille Bleue. The title of the exhibition refers to a type of vanilla in- indigenous to L’Île de la Reunion, once home to Maheke’s parents. Maheke cites writers such as Audre Lorde and Édouard Glissant for their use of poetry to “play on one of the most oppressive structures we have – language.”
Much of those meanings are rooted in Maheke’s interest in the invisible, and sometimes very concrete forces that affect our bodies as well as our identities and how we experience ourselves. These forces comprise everything from the political and social understanding of our history, to more mystical and spiritual understandings, as well as the sonic and physical forces such as gravity that surround us.
