CLAIM II

FULL PROPOSAL

“CLAIM II” is a follow on from “CLAIM,” a recently proposed intervention for the Sasol New Signatures Competition. For “CLAIM” I proposed that my name be inserted into every label of the works on show and that I receive a special mention before the commencement of all the performance works (without the consent or knowledge of the artists) so as to be credited as a collaborative partner in the creation of the works. The intervention acknowledges that artworks emerge as a result of social interaction and undermines individualized scholarship and authorship, and the prevailing notion of artistic genius, which are all positions of power.

As an extension of this, my proposed work for the Martienssen exhibition continues to ask pressing questions pertaining to ownership, specifically the ownership of intellectual property.

For this work I propose that my name alone appear on the labels of all the works on show so that I may be credited as the sole owner and creator of the works on show. The work relates back to the central themes of “CLAIM” which I have already briefly outlined, but it is also a commentary on South Africa’s seemingly advanced intellectual property laws. Although South Africa is a member of countless international patent and intellectual property treaties, enforcing these laws remains a challenge. The work also parallels a growing trend in South Africa concerning the ownership of physical property. As South Africa’s housing woes continue, more and more people are becoming increasingly discontent with the situation and fraudulently claiming spaces for themselves. This is a situation that the Johannesburg inner-city is all too familiar with. Buildings are fraudulently claimed by building hijackers or are illegally occupied by lodgers. Finally, the work raises several other very important questions about the practice of art making. How far can one push the boundaries of accepted conventions? How accepting are artists when their very identities as creators and owners of the very work they produce are unsettled? And are galleries able to discard conventional museum practice to accommodate works that pose a challenge to them?

This is what I envisage the labels to look like:

Nare Mokgotho

Title

Year

All information, except the inclusion of my name on the labels, will remain the same as that provided by the [original] artists. In each instance my year of study will be third year. The result would be that there would be no mention of any fourth year involvement in the exhibition. This brings me to my main stipulation: Since each of the works would be accredited to me, the exhibition would function as a solo exhibition and pending the selection process, will be marketed as such by me. I will do this by posting up a limited amount of posters and via e-mail and the internet. On the opening night the keynote speaker will, as usual, give a brief synopsis of the body of work exhibited, but will do so as though all the work on show was produced by me. The keynote speaker should also make their opening address available to me so that it may serve as documentation of the intervention. I will also make myself available for a walkabout to speak about a select group of work that I feel best represents my artistic practice.

The title “CLAIM II” serves to anchor the intervention and should not appear on the labels.