“I pack my bags” with Neo I. Matloga
Neo I. Matloga is exhibiting his large-format paintings alongside photographs by Singarum J. Moodley in the exhibition “We just want to be closer” in the Lippold Gallery. He came to Herford to help with the setup. Here he tells us about the things that he has to have in his luggage.
Living in Amsterdam and born in 1993 in Mamaila in the province of Limpopo (South Africa), Matloga works with ink, chalk and oil pen, and collages fragments of family photos with cuttings from magazines and drawings. The figures in his multi-layered works appear strangely grotesque. The scenes show usually casual, sometimes also erotically charged get-togethers in the protected space of the private sphere, but also possess something melancholy, if not indeed violent. The artist processes influences from theatre, music, literature and art, as well as personal experiences. This gives rise to pictorial phenomena arranged as if on a stage that evoke a further-going narrative that is written into them. Peppered with many details and hidden allusions, this always remains hinted at and, like the figures oscillating between physicality and transparency, eludes any attempt at unambiguous definition.
Neo Matloga travelled from Amsterdam to Herford to help set up the exhibition. Here he tells us what he has in his luggage:
Moleskin and sketch book: “I brought them to Marta for whenever I feel like writing during my stay, the sketchbook doesn’t have sketches, but names of people: famous celebrities, writers, musicians, artists, politicians and so forth.”
“I’m currently reading Afua Hirsch: BRIT(ish). On race, identity and belonging, and also a graphic novel which I usually read while enjoying my tea in the morning.”
Gadgets: “I love music so I always travel with headphones and earphones that are noise canceling. I listen to whatever sounds good, but I have an archive of disco music from Limpopo that I had no choice but to listen to, as this was the music my parents played.”
“The portrait is of me in my studio in Amsterdam.” The photo was taken in preparation for the exhibition in the Marta while he is working on a piece for the exhibition. His work process is usually accompanied by music.
The exhibition “We just want to be closer – Singarum J. Moodley and Neo I. Matloga“ can be seen in the Lippold Gallery in the Marta from 24.10.2021 to 13.02.2022.