James Webb
Switzerland | Fine Arts, Music
April – June — Fine Arts, Music
James Webb will be on a residency in Switzerland for three months, hosted by Atelier Mondial in Basel.
He intends to use his time to explore a set of current thematic concerns relating to uncertainty, the voice in public space, and the creative and spiritual uses of disorientation. He intends to connect with the rich and burgeoning experimental music scene in Switzerland as well as engaging with peers working in similar ways with sound and light as core material.
An interdisciplinary artist based in Cape Town, Webb’s work, framed in large-scale installations in galleries and museums, or as unannounced interventions in public spaces, often makes use of ellipsis, displacement and détournement to explore the nature of belief and the dynamics of communication in our contemporary world.
He is acclaimed for a sophisticated practice that employs a variety of media including audio, installation and text, referencing aspects of the conceptualist and minimalist traditions, as well as his academic studies in advertising, comparative religion and theatre.
Born in 1975 in Kimberley, Webb has presented his work around the world at institutions such as Wanås Konst in Sweden, the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France, CCA Kitakyushu in Japan and the Darat al Funun in Amman, Jordan, as well as on major international exhibitions such as the 12th Bienal de la Habana (2015), 55th Biennale di Venezia (2013), the 3rd Marrakech Biennale (2009), the 2009 Melbourne International Arts Festival and the 8th Biennale d’Art Contemporain de Lyon (2007).
His work is represented in the collections of the Iziko South African National Gallery (Cape Town), FRAC ChampagneArdenne (Reims), Khalid Shoman Foundation (Amman), Kaiser Wilhelm Museum (Krefeld), Johannesburg Art Gallery (Johannesburg), Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum (Port Elizabeth), and Vranken Pommery (Reims).
