Written by: Tiisetso Tlelima
Minnette Vári is a self-proclaimed perfectionist. She postpones our interview for an hour because in her mind one of the videos at her Parallax exhibition is faulty and she just has to fix it. It doesn’t matter that none of us noticed this slight blunder at the exhibition opening the previous night. “Sometimes I look at my work and I think not Ayoba! Then I start all over again,” she giggles. Perhaps it is a good thing because her work, in my eyes, seemed flawless.
Titled Parallax, meaning ‘change’ or ‘alternation’ in Greek, the exhibition includes a series of anamorphic drawings which assume a different perspective when viewed from the side; photographs of constellations she took while she was in Italy and two videos, Totem and Parallax. “The word parallax has to do with how perceptions change and how that changes who you are,” explains Vári. “It’s all about your point of view, that’s why my drawings have to be viewed from a specific view.”
Although she has a genuine interest in all mythologies, whether it be African or European, Greek mythologies are at the centre of this exhibition. “One thing I love the most is that all these mythologies overlap – they contain all of human beings’ fears and what they strive to,” she says. “In mythology everything is always in-flux.” Fascinated with the idea of how we all understand creation, Vári’s anamorphic drawings give us a glimpse into the Greek mythology of the three sisters, the Moirae, who control the thread of life from birth to death. The drawings represent images of these women. Clotho (the youngest) is the ‘spinner’ and she represents the thread that creates our lives and Lachesis (the second) measures the thread and decides how long we each have. Atropos (the eldest) decides when and how the thread is cut: she represents death. Often referred to as weavers of fate, the thread they spin is unchangeable.
Vári tells me that Atropos is also the name of a moth that has a skull-shaped pattern on its thorax. All kinds of negative superstitions have been attached to this moth solely because of this pattern and it is for this reason that there is a swarm of moths in her videos. “It’s amazing how we connect superstitions to nature and animals around us,” says Vári. While most people believe the moth is evil and brings bad luck, she believes moths are a symbol of hunger for knowledge in a sense that they are attracted to light. “They can also mean a head-long rush without thinking, but I prefer to see that as an uncontrollable urge to knowledge.” She goes on to say that knowledge is important because it informs what we do and how we construct our reality.
As an animal lover, Vári has always included images of animals in her work, so it comes as no surprise that birds play a prominent part in the exhibition. “I love animals, sometimes more than people,” she chuckles. “But I’m also interested in the cultural significance of animals and what they mean to our rituals, how animals are viewed and where their powers are.” Birds have throughout many cultures been seen as symbols of the soul and as messengers of good and evil. “There are birds that are associated with bad omen such as ravens, crows and owls are associated with wisdom and doves mean love.”
In addition to nature and animals, the role of women in society also forms an integral part of the exhibition. “I was really thinking about intergenerational relations. From children to mothers to grandmothers and how they weave our own life stories everyday,” she elaborates. “In many cultures women are the custodians of our stories and histories. We keep the stories alive and we keep adding to them.”
Looking at all the images of naked women in the exhibition one has to wonder why she’s fixated with nudity. She assures me that it isn’t an obsession, but rather a way of expressing herself. From a mythological point of viewpoint truth has always been understood as a being naked, so she’s simply using her own body to express things that words cannot explain. “I want everyone to relate with my work, that’s why I de-nude myself,” says Vári. In her previous work she would shave her head and try to be as naked as possible. “Clothes always say something – who you are, where you’re from. I don’t want to have things that distract from the main theme.”
A highlight of the exhibition has to be the Totem video showing a spinning and weaving figure standing among trees. The figure is made up of different objects piled on top of each other. The most gripping element of the video is the soundtrack, which at times sounds sensual, but is infact made out of sighs of women – sighs of joy, pain and despair.
Minnette Vári’s work is on display at the Goodman Gallery in Joburg until 13 February.
For more info on Minnette Vári visit her website www.minnettevari.com.
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