Collection of paintings on District Six evoke haunting memories
Cape Town - Artworks showcasing the artistic legacy and life of artist Derek Drake will be available for viewing next week.
Nearly half of Drake's collection of over 50 artworks are paintings on District Six, and will be exhibited at the Marvol Gallery at the Hazendal Wine Estate, in Stellenbosch.
The retrospective exhibition is scheduled to take place on May 26 at 11am for 11:30am.
The painter and sculptor was born in London in 1933 and studied at the Hornsey School of Arts & Crafts, the Central School of Art and the London School of Printing and Graphic Design.
He travelled extensively throughout Africa, living in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Congo, before settling in Cape Town.
In the late 1960s, he was greatly disturbed by the State-sanctioned violence which was part of the apartheid-era policy of creating segregated communities based on race, and painted the District Six collection as a form of protest against what was being done in this historic areas, where he had rented a studio, as well as to keep alive a very precious memory of the vibrancy of its life and community.
The artist passed away last year at the age of 90, following ill-health.
Some of his artworks were stored in horrid conditions while Drake resided at a retirement village, thus requiring much restoration. Art restoration expert Anastasia Alexander assisted in this regard, at the request of Drake's brother.
“They stored it in a horrible little room with almost no roof so the rain and all sorts of things were accumulating on the paintings and damaged it quite tremendously,” Alexander said.
Once restoration was done, more artworks were discovered that were kept at the Cape Gallery, where Drake's works had previously been exhibited. The collection consists of around 55 pieces in total.
“I decided they were such amazing, magnificent and powerful pieces that they needed to be seen, and his brother expressed the desire to take them to the UK – almost the whole collection – and I said that is not really the way, because a lot of them belonged in South Africa and they should at least be exhibited,” Alexander said.
Alexander began the restoration project in October last year. She said an important element of his work was the concept of ubuntu.
Alexander said the exhibition aimed to keep his legacy alive in South Africa, as much as possible, as all artworks would be available for purchase.
The District Six collection, particularly, was worthy of being in a museum, she added.
“He wanted to reach texture and colour and the layers and layers that he put on his canvas speak volumes because all of a sudden, when the sun shines on the little streets of District Six, you can feel it. You can feel the colourful buildings, and all the people and the buzz and all the atmosphere that has been there is preserved in his paintings.”
The District Six collection consisted of 22 pieces of artwork which will be exhibited together.
Gallery director and head curator Ina Voloshin said discussions were being held with the family on whether some of the artworks should be kept in the country. A selection of his artworks, between 25-30 artworks will be available for viewing, however a catalogue consisting of all the artworks will be made available.
“Our gallery is always committed to exhibiting artists who are not in the wider view. So we do a lot of emerging artists, giving them an opportunity to exhibit, but also artists like Derek Drake or older artists who are re-emerging and who have sort of gone under the radar or been forgotten,” Voloshin said.
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za