Moving Stories & Travelling Rhythms: Penny Siopis and the Many Journeys of Skokiaan
Presenting a publication reflecting on the 2019 exhibition of South African artist Penny Siopis at the National Gallery in Bulawayo. The publication includes written articles by Siopis herself alongside texts by local artists and curators. The publication reflects on the Siopis' sprawling site-responsive installation that extended across the curvatures of the gallery walls; a set of paintings in ink, glue and oil paint; as well as the video artwork in the next room that filled the air of the gallery with familiar melody. A documentary film exploring the histories of township jazz in Zimbabwe was included in the show allowing all these elements to come together in the historic rooms of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo - setting in dialogue the many narratives and memories, fictional and documentary accounts that were inspired by the story of Skokiaan.