New Woodcuts 2017

Harbouring Aliens

Artist Statement John Roome, 2010. Harbouring Aliens, digital print on archival paper, A3 (297 x 420 mm). Just as the Soccer World Cup was coming to an end there were reports that xenophobia was about to rear its ugly head again. Threats were made to non South Africans that, come the end of the Soccer World Cup, their houses and shops would be burnt down and their lives would be in danger. Thousands lined the roads waiting to catch buses to get away. (Fortunately the violence was not on the same scale as previously and seemed to have been brought under control). At this time I was photographically recording the changing moods of Cape Town harbour. In one, taken at dawn, the cranes appeared as menacing, robot-like, alien beings. Harbours are universally associated with immigration. These threatening, alien-like machines appeared to me as metaphors for our deep- seated, irrational fear of the “other “. In my drawing I tried to express a sense of the abject, of fear, and i...

I was asked by the curator Derek Zietsman, to participate in this show. He chose four of my recent woodcut prints Brief artist’s statement on the works: All four prints speak directly to the theme of kakotopia and reflect a sense of unease, foreboding, and discomfort in a world where things seem to be falling apart. 1. Dark Street reflects my engagement with an area adjacent to my studio. My aim was to echo its sense of unease, foreboding and discomfort. 2. Waiting is based on things I see and people I come into contact with whilst walking through the town’s hustle and bustle (to my studio). I am interested in the gritty underbelly of my city rather than the “surf-city –holiday destination” image commonly associated with Durban. 3. Limping Buffalo is a metaphor for the state and a social comment on events associated with the #Feesmustfall student unrest in 2016. 4. There is a Buffalo on the Roof comments on our so...

If technology is the answer what is the question?

If technology is the answer, what is the question? John Roome. 2010. I am a visual artist and educator who obtained my fine art degree many more years ago than I care to remember. My formative years were grounded in what are now known as “traditional” or even “old” media. Technology was not really something I thought about. Most of the technologies I was introduced to and made use of, probably date back to the Renaissance or even earlier. In fact throughout my career I have been particularly interested in ancient technologies such as handmade paper and relief printing. I saw these as ways of expressing myself rather than as technologies. But in fact they are technologies. Artists have a long tradition of adapting old technologies or even inventing new technologies. The re- introduction of hand papermaking by printmakers in the 1960’s is an example of how an out-dated technology was used to revitalize art. Many artists respond to old and new technologies in surprising ways. In the co...

John Roome

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