The Darling Foundry immerses visitors in the organic and mystical universe of South African artist Dineo Seshee Bopape, winner of the 2017 Future Generation Art Prize. With and- in. the light of this._____, her first solo exhibition in Canada, Dineo Seshee Bopape consolidates the connections that she developed with the Darling Foundry following a six-month studio residency in 2012.

And- in. the light of this.______ is part of Dineo Seshee Bopape’s ongoing inquiry into the concept of sovereignty—land, body, and self-sovereignty—and the metaphysics of nothingness through the exploration of various forms of containment and displacement, occupation, and hosting, as well as the socio-historical politics of landlessness. Like two previous works, sa ____ ke lerole, (sa lerole ke ___) (2016) (exhibited at Art in General in New York) and :indeed it may very well be the___________itself (2016) (commissioned by the São Paulo Biennale), this new site-specific installation for the Darling Foundry continues Bopape’s thematic interest in the topic of the Anthropocene and the idea of sovereignty.

The installation consists of a large vault-like or egg-shaped sculpture, and a long compressed soil structure with objects that include casts of a uterus, womb, healing herbs and minerals, and pieces of clay molded by the clenching of a fist. The resulting work addresses issues of gender and maternity, history and the politics of place, play, memory and the metaphysics of self and presence. Instead of providing a definitive answer to these topics, Bopape links poetically these notions in this installation, thus creating a monument and a shrine/homage to what is sacred, the earth/land, home, the body, spirit—as well as to an Afro-Diasporic/global indigenous “pagan” aesthetics/language.

Curator: Dominique Fontaine

Dineo Seshee Bopape, born in 1981 in Polokwane (Limpopo, South Africa), lives and works in Johannesburg. She is the recipient of Standard Bank Young Artists’ Award, National Arts Festival, South Africa (2016). Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions at Art in General, Brooklyn (2016); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2016); Hayward Gallery, London (2015); Hordaland Kunstsenter, Bergen, Norway (2015); August House, Johannesburg (2014); Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town (2013, 2011); Mart House Gallery, Amsterdam (2010); and Art Berlin Contemporary (2010).

The Darling Foundry is a visual arts centre and a must-see venue for contemporary art. Housed in a former industrial building in Old Montreal, under the general and artistic direction of Caroline Andrieux, the Darling Foundry supports the creation, production, and diffusion of works by emerging artists. The Darling Foundry includes both exhibition spaces and studios to support local and international artists. Through a wide variety of projects—exhibitions, performances, works of public art, and residencies—the Darling Foundry offers its visitors unique aesthetic experiences and enhances their understanding of contemporary art.

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