Lot 431 | Profanation (Rubens)

GEERS, KENDELL
1968 Johannesburg

Title: Profanation (Rubens).
Date: 2008.
Technique: White neon tubes, steel, transformers and cable.
Measurement: Ca. 170 x 83 x 11,5cm.
Number: 3/3.


The work is fully functional.

Provenance:
- de Pury & Luxembourg, Zurich

Kendell Geers is a conceptual artist born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He grew up in a white working class family, but at the age of 15 he left home and joined a militant anti-apartheid movement. In 1988 Geers, one of almost 150 young men, publicly refused to serve in the South African Defense Force. To escape prison, he was forced into exile the following year. Only in 1990, after Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were released, was he able to return to South Africa without the threat of imprisonment. Geers has lived and worked in Belgium since 2003.

At the Venice Biennale in 1993, the artist adopted the name of Kendell Geers in a performance and officially changed his birthday to May 1968, the beginning of the South African civil rights movement. In a political act, Geers thus appropriated his identity anew. But it is not only a reappropriation, the 1993 performance can also be seen as a resurrection. This establishes a direct link to his work series "Profanation", to which the present work also belongs. The title of the series, literally translated "Desecration", stands in striking contrast to the neon installations inspired by crucifixions. However, if we now link the title of this work to Kendell's own experiences, a new level of interpretation opens up. With the work series "Profanation", Geers rebels against the sacred exclusivity of the resurrection. As a luminous memorial, he creates different, varying installations, all of which are based on the crucified Christ. These variations make it clear that the recreation of one's own self is not an exclusively reserved act, but rather, metaphorically speaking, everyone has the right to resurrection. Kendell Geers is not afraid to fight against great and seemingly overpowering opponents. He consistently uses his art as a political tool to bring down institutionalized inequality.