Context

South Africa is a famous test case. Now entering its 12th year of democracy, survey studies and contemporary art exhibitions continue to abound in celebration of its success in overcoming its apartheid history and avoiding the familiar post-colonial path of corruption, civil war and famine.

There is a great deal to be optimistic about in South Africa and the passing visitor can not help being charmed by a sense of friendliness and vitality in many of the people. However attempts to make accurate assessments of the sentiments and social forces at work in the culture are always limited. Complex emotions continue to rule the simplest exchanges between individuals and it remains a source of aggravation, to establish to what extent the negative emotions are justifiable or simple paranoia's and strategies of domination. Entering the personal realm of the country can at times seem like entering a labyrinth of guilt, blame and territorialism which seems to diametrically oppose the sense of hope and optimism which co-exists.

South Africa is also interesting from the point of view that socially engaged work has a direct and obvious need here. Aside from the complex social forces described above, there remains in the society, chronic health, crime, education and unemployment problems and huge gaps between rich and poor. It is natural for artists in this context to be seized by a sense of social responsibility and a desire to bridge the separations and prick the myopic bubbles, which obstruct the growth of the society. The presiding government is quick to support such artistic sentiments; through its various Arts funding bodies which favour socially uplifting projects. Such an environment creates a challenging situation for a contemporary artist who becomes stretched between a need for a broad social validity on the one hand, and the development of a personal and subjective voice on the other.

The post-apartheid, post-struggle era has given way to much questioning in the work of the new generation of South African artists, on where to place themselves in relation to the social and political realities of their context and how best to benefit from the relatively new freedom and growth of the individual in a society free of oppression and cultural boycott.

Cape Town remains its own special case in the context of South Africa , many indeed contest whether it is truly part of Africa , lost as part of it seems to be in its Mediterranean lifestyle. The idyllic landscape of the city, built around beaches, mountains, forests, wetlands and golf courses, has played its role in maintaining cultural separation and conservatism amongst its inhabitants. Until very recently, the city continued to be governed by the New National Party (the face-lifted version of the apartheid authority). For reasons to complicated to enter into, the continued success of the NNP was due to the support of non-white voters in the region, a fact which serves as a good example of how the past continues to haunt the present of the lives of its inhabitants. The high rate of crime, the active gang culture, the high instance of rape, murder and abuse, the inadequate shanty housing for much of the city, long distances to travel to work and the conflict between modern city life and traditional African traditions and rituals are some obvious factors which contribute to an awkward day to day reality.

There are others factors as well, which are less easy to define; channels of contact and exchange which are obscured by incomprehensible blockages. Very Real Time hopes to warm and transcend these blockages in a manner which is at once sublime and strategic: a balance of eroticism and incisive critical thought. It has long been a complaint that the art scene in South Africa lacks any solid foundation of critique; this has begun to shift in recent years with the emergence of several significant publications and writers. Very Real Time seeks to contribute to this shift.