Opening: Saturday, November 1st, 11 a.m
Millions of people live in informal settlements of shacks–improvised structures built from whatever materials are available. This architecture of impermanence reflects their socioeconomic challenges. Home, a work by Diego Masera, seeks to address this reality through an intervention that points to the systemic issue of inequality while also highlighting beauty, resilience, and dignity.
The difference between a house and a home is a concept that philosophers have debated many times. The former is concrete and tangible. The latter is a complex part of the human condition. Both are mutually dependent structures and fundamental to our lives. In Home, the artist has created a multidimensional refuge that evokes the humanity of the place. The gold-covered corrugated metal sheets (symbolically linked to Johannesburg since the 1886 gold rush) appear heavy and substantial, yet they float gently on a pool of water at NIROX, a sculpture park located in an area called the Cradle of Humankind on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Their shimmering reflection creates an optical illusion that alludes to a connection with the Earth's depths, while the apparent contradictions between their ordinary design and seductive surface generate a tension which the artist explores.
Home encourages us to pause and reconnect with our communities, both human and natural, reminding us that we are all part of a whole
The artwork is part of the exhibition Soil & Water, curated by Basak Senova and Johan Thom.
Image: Diego Masera, Hogar