Diane Victor

Instigator, 2017

Limited edition

Maniere noire stone lithograph
Image: 28 x 20 cm
Paper: 28 x 20 cm
Printed at Atelier le Grand Village

CM H 28 W 20

IN H 11.02 W 7.87

Certificate of authenticity - Signed by artist

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About the work

Instigator, 2017

This work is part of Diane Victor' solo exhibition at Goodman Gallery entitled Which Hunt? The body of work presents visceral new work in which Diane Victor grapples with South Africa’s gender-based violence epidemic and considers the complex social structures that underpin patriarchal power relations worldwide.

Victor does not claim to speak for all victims of the history of violence against women. She makes the point that the phenomenon is not new, but rather that ongoing scourge is currently being paid much greater attention. In this exhibition, Victor examines the pervasive effects of blame culture in society alongside depictions of women who have been made to bear responsibility for the abuse inflicted on them.

Deploying Victor-esque (dark) humour and characterisations drawn from real life, the artist considers universal traditions of violence against women, from the history of witch-hunts in Europe and America, to ‘corrective rape’ in South Africa today. She seeks to expose these everyday narratives for instilling feelings of guilt and shame in men as well as women.

In her practice, Victor is renowned for boldly confronting taboo subjects and for rendering her subjects in affecting detail with masterful, mark-making across various mediums. This exhibition features etchings and lithographs, which were made during residencies in America and France last year, as well as large-scale drawings, smoke on glass and drawings made with candle smoke and ash as well as other burned materials.

About artist

Diane Victor

Diane Victor (b. 1964 in Witbank, South Africa) has established herself as a major figure in the South African and International art communities and is renowned for her expert printmaking and draughtsmanship. Victor positions herself within the South African art scene through her bold confrontations with difficult and at times taboo subject matter. Her large scale drawings and etchings demonstrate a command of mark-making, which she uses to render her subjects in affecting detail. At times, her work seems to pose challenges to social and political life in contemporary South Africa, considering issues of corruption, violence and an unequal power distribution.

Having received her BA Fine Arts Degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, with a major in Printmaking, and graduating with distinction – Victor has gone on to win various prestige awards including the Sasol New Signatures Award in 1987. In 1988, Victor became the youngest recipient of the prestigious Volkskas Atelier Award which granted her a ten-month stay at the Cité Internationale des Artes in Paris, France. Over this period, Victor was able to work collaboratively with other experienced printmakers and to observe and reflect on a society very different from her own.

Victor has exhibited at numerous venues around South Africa and internationally, some of which include the UNISA Gallery, Fried Contemporary, MoMA New York, Faulconer Gallery, The Highpoint Center for printmaking, The Gus Fisher Gallery, National Museum of Contemporary Art Oslo, Yale University Art Gal...

About Gallery

Goodman Gallery

Goodman Gallery is an international contemporary art gallery with locations in Johannesburg, Cape Town and London. The gallery represents artists whose work confronts entrenched power structures and inspires social change.

Goodman Gallery has held the reputation as a pre-eminent art gallery on the African continent since 1966. It has been pivotal in shaping contemporary South African art, bringing Lisa Brice, David Goldblatt, William Kentridge, David Koloane, Sam Nhlengethwa and Sue Williamson to the world’s attention for the first time during the apartheid era.

Since Liza Essers became owner and director in 2008, the gallery roster has grown by more than 30 international artists, with a focus on women from the African Diaspora and beyond.

Goodman Gallery has a global programme working prominent and emerging international artists whose work engages in a dialogue with African and post-colonial contexts.

Some of these artists include Ghada Amer, El Anatsui, Candice Breitz, Alfredo Jaar, Grada Kilomba, Kapwani Kiwanga, Shirin Neshat, Ernesto Neto, Tabita Rezaire, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Mikhael Subotzky and Hank Willis Thomas.

Critical to this programme has been the introduction of two ongoing curatorial initiatives: “In Context”, which explores tensions of place and belonging; and “South-South”, which considers connections between artists from the “global south”. Goodman Gallery’s expansion to London furthers this mission to confront dominant historical narratives and to contribute to contemporary art discourse and social repair. Read more

Curated by Goodman Gallery