blank projects is pleased to present flat, a solo exhibition by Unathi Mkonto
The exhibition comprises a series of wall- and floor-based sculptures consisting of car body parts wrapped in black vinyl, revealing the silhouettes and smooth contours of the moulded steel forms, while at the edges the excess vinyl has been left to pucker and frill. The works are considered by Mkonto to be ‘anatomical constructions’ that explore tailoring; not on the body but on found materials.
There is an uncanniness to these fragmented but otherwise familiar objects with their skins of matte black vinyl, signalling Mkonto’s interest in and use of the language of fetish and dress-up. For him, the sculptures represent a universal craving for human connection, expressed through the use of these commonplace objects that become abject in their dismemberment.
Working between drawing, installation and sculpture, Unathi Mkonto is a self-developed multidisciplinary artist with a background in architecture and fashion. Selected exhibitions include AVOID (A4 Arts Foundation, 2018), NON-EXCHANGE (ICA London, 2017), Young Now (Hazard Gallery, 2017), and Embrace Tiger & Return to Mountain (Alma Martha, Cape Town, 2016).
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Born in Peddie, South Africa in 1982, Mkonto lives and works in Johannesburg.
The exhibition comprises a series of wall- and floor-based sculptures consisting of car body parts wrapped in black vinyl, revealing the silhouettes and smooth contours of the moulded steel forms, while at the edges the excess vinyl has been left to pucker and frill. The works are considered by Mkonto to be ‘anatomical constructions’ that explore tailoring; not on the body but on found materials.
There is an uncanniness to these fragmented but otherwise familiar objects with their skins of matte black vinyl, signalling Mkonto’s interest in and use of the language of fetish and dress-up. For him, the sculptures represent a universal craving for human connection, expressed through the use of these commonplace objects that become abject in their dismemberment.
Working between drawing, installation and sculpture, Unathi Mkonto is a self-developed multidisciplinary artist with a background in architecture and fashion. Selected exhibitions include AVOID (A4 Arts Foundation, 2018), NON-EXCHANGE (ICA London, 2017), Young Now (Hazard Gallery, 2017), and Embrace Tiger & Return to Mountain (Alma Martha, Cape Town, 2016).
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Born in Peddie, South Africa in 1982, Mkonto lives and works in Johannesburg.
