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So as you know the Turbine Art Fair happened over the weekend from 11 – 14 July 2019…and I would like to share my adventures with you:

Oh my what big wings you have said mini-me

The adventure started on the 10th of July, flying to Johannesburg with my Mini-me companion. Why is she called Mini-Me you might ask, well…

Me and Mini-me

In preparation for the fair I started to re-read the book: Seven days in the art world by Sarah Thorton, and I quote:

“Poe believes that an art fair can be a tough environment for an artist. ‘ If they are any good, they make art because they have to. They don’t do it to please the market. So for some artists, hanging out here can mess with their heads.”

I wanted to test this theory and check it out for myself.

Anyway, I had my first Gautrain experience where i almost got fined for chewing gum, because in all the excitement I did not notice this sign!

Gautrain station

OPENING NIGHT 11/07/2019 (Thursday)

Installation view at the Turbine art fair – opening night. Photo credit: Sherilea Gaspar

On the opening night I wore a rubber hooped skirt and rubber collar, (envisioned by me, but created with the help from the Tailor: William Mills in Stilbaai.) The headdress I embroidered and made myself. (It used to be the wings of another sculpture that I took apart)

I really love the colour of the wall, which was the idea of the Millennium gallery who represented my work at the fair. I feel it really complimented the work installed.

The opening night was great, and I’ll admit that I felt like some sort of princess at a ball, having a ball 😉 …..(to have a ball. (Enjoy oneself enormously, as in It was a great trip—I had a ball. This idiom uses the noun ball in the sense of “a gala dance.” [ Slang; 1920s])

FRIDAY (open to the public) 12/07/2019

I enjoy dressing up since age 5, and for events like these, i like to wear the medium I make my art with…rubber. So on this day I decided to only wear the rubber crown, but with a rubber collar and some dramatic make-up:

Photographer: Alon Skuy

The photo below was taken in the Millennium gallery booth…who also exhibited the work of Norman Catherine (see the artworks behind me). It was an honor for me that my work was exhibited in the same space as his and also with the work by artist Colbert Mashile (whose work was on the opposite wall)

JULY 12, 2019. Hannalie Taute, , at The Millennium Gallery. RMB Turbine Art Fair (RMB TAF) Its the 7th edition of the Fair. “RMB TAF, since its inception in 2013, has grown extensively year on year and 2019 will see the most substantial Fair yet in a new location – 10 Fricker Rd, Illovo from 12 – 14 July with a preview evening on 11 July.” PHOTOGRAPH: ALON SKUY

SATURDAY 13/07/2019

…its time to introduce you to the owner of the Millennium Gallery: Ronel van der Vyfer!

with Ronel van der Vyfer director of the Millennium gallery based in Pretoria

“A great dealer does a good job for the collector but a great job for the artist. A great adviser does a good job for the artist but a great job for the collector.” (another quote from the book: Seven days in the art world.)

SUNDAY 14/07/2019

So on Sunday I wore A blue dress, and fellow artist Zelda Stroud mentioned that outfit reminds her of the “Blourokkies” I was not familiar with this term and she explained it to me, but here is the shortened version found on the internet:

2. colloquial. [Named for the sky-blue uniform of the sect.] A name given to a woman belonging to the Pentecostal ‘Latter Rain’ or ‘Spade Reën’ sect.

[1972 The women..wear a uniform consisting of a sky-blue dress worn well below the knee, with headdress to match…This uniform ensures that they are modestly and neatly dressed, independently of changing fashions.]

In retrospect i find this fascinating, since I wasn’t familiar with this sect, and I’m not religious in this sense, but funny enough I chose to wear this on a Sunday with a very different headdress than what I can imagine they wore back then 😉

another definition I found is this:

1. Prison slang. rare. [Probably by analogy with Afrikaans bloubaadjie the blue jacket worn in the past by long-term male prisoners (see bloubaadjie).] A female habitual criminal, sentenced to an indeterminate period in goal; this sentence. See also blue-coat sense 1.

1969 A. Fugard Boesman & Lena 7 Oppas they don’t get you. Blourokkie next time they catch you stealing.

(definitions found here: https://dsae.co.za/entry/blourokkie/e00890

The latter definition fits with the helmet I wore (sondebok) 😉

anyway…..

Highlights of the fair include meeting fascinating people ranging from art students, fellow artists, friends, art lovers young and old and of course interesting art collectors:

“It’s not just about buying a piece. Its about buying into someone’s life and where they are going with it. Its a mutual commitment, which is pretty intense.” – quote from the book: Seven days in the Art World.

One of the interesting art collectors with my work: wild thing. It makes me smile every time I see this image

“Collector should be and earned category. An artist doesn’t become an artist in a day, the same with a collector. It’s a lifetime commitment and a life process.” quoted from the book: Seven days in the art world by Sarah Thornton.

So there you have it dear friends…I would like to thank each and everyone responsible for making this one helluva unforgettable experience!

I’ll leave you with this quote I found on the internet by Tennessee Williams: