Dineo seshee bopape biography
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She was awarded the Future Generations Art Prize in 2017 and has had solo exhibitions at the Kwazulu Natal Society of Arts in Durban and the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.
+/- 1791 (monument to the haitian revolution 1791) (2017), Dineo Seshee Bopape, detail of an installation at the 13th Sharjah Biennial, 2017. Incorporating medicinal herbs local to Sharjah, as well as gold leaf, oils and earth collected from across Africa and the Middle East, the work drew on healing practices of the African diaspora and was inspired by the Haitian overthrow of French colonial rule in 1791.
1981) is a renowned South African multimedia artist known for her thought-provoking installations, sculptures, and video works. She is a 2007 graduate of De Ateliers in Amsterdam and in 2010 completed an MFA at Columbia University, New York. It also considers our rapidly changing relationship with nature in the Anthropocene era.
Bopape’s work is marked by a meticulous attention to the materials she uses and the associations they carry.
Born in Polokwane, she studied Fine Arts at the Durban Institute of Technology and later pursued an MFA at Columbia University in New York.
1981, Polokwane, South Africa; she/her) lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa. Ocean! Commissioned and produced by TBA21–Academy. What if no change is your desperate mission?”, Ocean Space, Venice, 2022. In 2017, she won the Sharjah Biennial Art Prize for a group of found-object sculptures called +/- 1791 (monument to the haitian revolution 1791).
She has received several awards, including the Future Generation Art Prize in 2017, highlighting her influence in the contemporary art world.
Bopape continues to live and work in Johannesburg, where she remains a pivotal figure in the South African and global art scenes.
Image Source: Artsy
Dineo Seshee Bopape’s works have been shown in numerous solo exhibitions around the world, most recently at MoMA, New York, USA (2023); Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, Italy (2022); Ocean Space, Venice, Italy (2022); Secession Vienna, AT (2022); The Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University (ICA at VCU), Richmond, Virginia, USA (2021); Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne, UK (2019).
Photo: Matteo De Fina
Dineo Seshee Bopape (b.
THE SOUL EXPANDING OCEAN #3: Dineo Seshee Bopape
Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation
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BOPAPE, DINEO
Dineo Seshee Bopape (b. Some of her recent group exhibitions include venues and events such as the Helsinki Biennial, National Museum of Cardiff, Wales; FRAC Poitou-Charentes, Anglouême, France; Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin; SFMOMA, San Francisco, USA; Arsenale, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy; Ford Foundation Gallery, New York, USA; Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto, Canada; 10th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany; Sharjah Biennale 13: Tamawuj, Sharjah, UAE, to mention just a few.
Dineo Seshee Bopape
Johannesburg
The playful and poetic multimedia installations of Dineo Seshee Bopape pose fundamental questions about how we experience the world.
Incorporating video, sound, and archival images, as well as earthier materials such as soil and timber, the Johannesburg-based artist’s work tackles displacement, landlessness and the meaning of sovereignty. Bopape's works have earned her international acclaim, including exhibitions at prestigious venues such as the Tate Modern, Palais de Tokyo, and the Venice Biennale.
She was a co-winner of the Artes Mundi 9 prize in 2021, the main prize winner of the Future Generation Art Prize 2017 by PinchukArtCentre, the recipient of a 2010 Columbia University Toby Fund Award, and the winner of the 2008 MTN New Contemporaries Award.
Bopape is known for her use of soil and other organic materials as a base for multisensory, multidimensional work that connects deeply with the earth.
Bopape's work often explores themes of memory, identity, land, and the politics of place, engaging deeply with African history, spirituality, and social issues.
Her installations, characterised by their use of organic materials like soil, clay, and water, create immersive environments that invite reflection on both personal and collective narratives.