Artist Pebofatso Mokoena opened his latest exhibition, "Diamond Dust Apostrophes," at The Blue House in Parkwood on July 19, hosted by David Krut Projects. The show draws on his recent residency in Oranjemund, Namibia, where the landscape, history, and soundscapes influenced his creative direction. During the residency, Mokoena began creating ink drawings on A4 paper while waiting for oil paints, a limitation that shaped the exhibition's meditative tone. He also collaborated with fellow resident Ericke Tjiueza, using music—particularly the album "Floating Points" by Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra—as a tool to understand the town. The exhibition marks a shift from his 2020 solo show "Internal Probes," which focused on Johannesburg's urban chaos, toward stillness and reflection.
This exhibition matters because it highlights how a residency in a remote, historically layered location can fundamentally shift an artist's practice. Mokoena's work engages with the complex mining history of both Oranjemund and Johannesburg, using fragmented, poetic gestures to explore place and memory. The show also underscores the collaborative role of the David Krut Workshop and printmaker Sbongiseni Khulu, as well as the curatorial vision of Ame Bell, in shaping the exhibition's conceptual and spatial experience. For the local Johannesburg art scene, it represents a thoughtful, immersive body of work that invites viewers to slow down and engage deeply with mark-making and composition.