Poster – Athi-Patra Ruga ARP / TFWWOA A1 Litho

Athi-Patra Ruga (b. 1984, Umtata, South Africa) is a South African artist who uses performance, photography, video, textiles, and printmaking to explore notions of utopia and dystopia, material and memory. His work explores the body in relation to sensuality, culture, and ideology, often creating cultural hybrids. Themes such as sexuality, HIV/AIDS, African culture, and the place of queerness within post-apartheid South Africa also permeate his work. Ruga’s work has been purchased by numerous public and private collections, including the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa permanent collection, Iziko South African National Gallery, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Bolzano Italy, and the CAAC, Pigozzi Collection. He lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa.

This is part of artist Athi-Patra Ruga’s performance series titled The Future White Women of Azania (2010?present). The artist creates a fictional post-Apartheid, utopian kingdom called Azania. Presented here is the fantastical female figure, sometimes presented as a queen, whose body consists of balloons and long high-heeled legs is a recurring character in Azania. The character’s multi-coloured balloons on the surface point to celebration of a rainbow nation, a place where all identities can co-exist in harmony. However, the danger of the balloons bursting reminds us the fragility of dreams.

Athi-Patra Ruga ARP/TFWWOA A1_Litho