The exuberant artworks in Ruan Jooste’s Kiff Khaya series are an eye-popping display of colour and creativity.
“We need something that’s uplifting and positive at this time,” says the Cape Town-based artist whose collection of 12 portraits shows a variety of people in typically South African settings wearing highly-stylised “fashion looks”.
An anomaly of layering, these images initially look like collages, but are in fact intricately detailed layered drawings. “I love drawing,” says Jooste. “I was always the child in the corner with a piece of paper and pencil.”
And that’s not the only intrigue. While the shapes and styles of the subjects' clothes are on-trend high-fashion, Jooste has deftly crafted these out of fabrics printed with the logos of some of SA's most-loved brands.
“Everyone has a memory of one of the iconic South African brands,” he says. “If I look at pilchards I think of my dad, who loved eating pilchards on toast — and the rest of the house didn’t.”
Fishy Feshuns shows a girl in front of a motor-repair garage, her impeccable Chanel-inspired suit blazing with the Lucky Star logo. An exotic, skin Birkin on her wrist and a can of Black Label in her hand. It sounds decidedly mad, and yet it works in the most wonderful way.
Tjommies sees two kids in front of a spaza shop, one wears a NikNaks- and the other a Simba-packet pullover; Gucci trousers and Louis Vuitton bags complete the look.
“These brands straddle all social classes and are so South African and we all share them,” says Jooste. “It doesn’t matter where you come from, what colour, what economic standing, what race, we have all experienced and continue to experience these everyday items that are decidedly local for us.”
But it’s not just the brands that make his portraits s so fantastically alluring. It’s the exuberant use of colour and mishmash of print. In itself these elements are unique to Africa, where life is loud, warm and expressive.
“I think sometimes we focus so much on what makes us different we forget we are so much more alike,” Jooste says. “All these little things remind us of the similarities we share.”
Jooste, originally from Nigel, studied fashion design in Pretoria before working for a time in fashion and then moving into art. This fashion background is clear as he evidently spends time putting outfits together, trawling the fashion sites and high-end luxury stores to find just the right sunglasses, the perfect necklace or the best bag.
“I don’t want these to be viewed as fashion illustrations,” he says. “I don’t copy a runway look and I’m not putting together a fashion collection. Rather I’m creating something fun and positive. A fantasy vignette that reflects our beautiful country that is filled with creativity and positivity.
“There is so much negativity out there, but if you just change your glasses, the way something is viewed, it’s easy to see the brightness.”
