Renowned word artist or "linguistic terrorist" Willem Boshoff is the focus of Javett-UP Art centre's latest exhibition, Word Woes.

This retrospective of Boshoff’s prolific works is a survey of close to four decades of art-making. Boshoff is an original. His work is challenging and his approach unconventional. Like much of his work the exhibition's title is a play on words, taken from a signature work by Boshoff. It can be read in English and in Afrikaans, creating different meanings. 

Boshoff's work challenges the use of language as both an instrument of cultural identity and of cultural exclusion, and he describes his art, whether sculptural or graphic, as conceptual books.

“Willem Boshoff strikes a large and familiar figure in the South African art world and his international stature is substantial.  He is a sophisticated mind known for communicating with clarity and wit. His artistic activism has recognised the change in the status of languages and minority language groups in South Africa. This exhibition features both new and iconic early works, such as Abumfusa Lawula – the Purple Shall Govern (1997), presenting lines from popular struggle songs sung during protest marches against the apartheid state”, comments curator, Hélène Smuts.

Not to be missed!

Opening Saturday March 13, 2021 from 11:00.