William Kentridge - Why Should I Hesitate: Putting Drawings To Work

Why Should I Hesitate: Putting Drawings To Work
25 August 2019 - 23 March 2020

Why Should I Hesitate: Putting Drawings to Work is a major exhibition by internationally acclaimed artist, William Kentridge. The exhibition will be the largest exhibition held in Africa in over a decade and will be hosted simultaneously in two parts, alongside Norval Foundation‘s Why Should I Hesitate: Sculpture.

Why Should I Hesitate: Putting Drawings To Work – at Zeitz MOCAA – will offer a wide survey of Kentridge’s work, including early works, as well as newer pieces on view for the first time in South Africa. It will cover over 40 years of artistic production (1976 – 2019) in drawing, stop-frame animation, video, prints, sculpture, tapestry, and large-scale installation.

The title references Kentridge’s primary practice of drawing and how this core activity informs and enables his studio practice. It also references the impact of individual action on history and the reverse – how history shapes the contemporary and the future – and works as a commentary on various shifting hegemonies of power politics, economies, language and the authority to narrate history.

Both exhibitions will include major works from Kentridge’s extensive oeuvre and will be accompanied by two new publications, conceived in collaboration between Zeitz MOCAA, Norval Foundation and the artist. The exhibitions will be accompanied by a series of talks and performances with the artist, and leading voices in the cultural sector.

Artist:
William Kentridge

Curator:
Azu Nwagbogu, assisted by Tammy Langtry, Curatorial Assistant