The UJ Art Gallery is proud to launch of Fire my Spirit, a new site-specific installation by Johannesburg-based spatial-weaver Bev Butkow, which was developed as part of the University of Johannesburg Arts & Culture’s Artist in Residence (AiR) programme.
Installed in the foyer of the Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre, named after the South African Poet Laureate, Fire my Spirit draws on the poetic, historical and collective resonances embedded within the space itself.
Suspended layers of painted fabric, ribbon, plastic and organza drift through the foyer space, catching air, light and movement. As viewers move around the work, colours intensify and recede; translucent surfaces overlap and separate, while shifting gestures and poetic rhythms continually reorganise perception.
Launching on the 18th of June, guests on the evening will also enjoy a live poetic intervention by Quaz Roodt, responding to the installation and the poetic resonances embedded within the space, with opening remarks by Dave Mann.
The installation’s title draws from an elemental incantation referenced in the research of Dr. Uhuru Portia Phalafala on the work of Keorapetse William Kgositsile: “Earth my Body, Water my Blood, Air my Breath, Fire my Spirit”
Within the installation, fire becomes a force of transformation rather than destruction, unfolding through shifting fields of colour, light, transparency, and movement that continually reconfigures the space and the experience of the work itself.
“At UJ Arts & Culture, we are particularly invested in reimagining our venues as living cultural sites – spaces where visual art, performance, poetry, and everyday life intersect in ways that are accessible, dialogic, and socially resonant. This installation speaks directly to that vision, foregrounding the role of the university not only as a site of learning, but as a dynamic platform for creative and critical exchange,” says Pieter Jacobs, Head of UJ Arts & Culture.
“Bev Butkow’s installation exemplifies this approach with sensitivity and depth. By responding directly to the architectural, historical, and poetic resonances of the Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre foyer, Fire my Spirit transforms a transitional space into a site of encounter – one that invites reflection, movement, and layered interpretation. In doing so, it expands our understanding of how art can inhabit and activate institutional environments” he continues.
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