Brett Murray; South African 1961-; Until The Second Coming ,2015/20
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Notes : Kindly donated by the artist and Everard Read, Cape Town, Franschhoek, Johannesburg, London. Brett Murray's work often makes use of animals as analogies or metaphors, in a stylised aesthetic which brings to mind children's fables. His most well-known use of the bull is his monumental work, Again Again (2016), in which the repetition of the figures is intended to symbolise the repetition and immovability of corruption. In Until The Second Coming, the reclining bull with its golden, reflective surface, evokes the story of the Golden Calf. Along with the title, the work refers to former president Jacob Zuma's assertion that the ANC would rule until Jesus' return, equating the party leadership to divine rule. In response, the work depicts the organisation and its leader as false idols. This reading is emphasised by the bull's crucifix-like pose, undercut by its overfed potbelly which - along with the polished, gold surface - speaks to what Murray perceives as the government's self-indulgent excesses. Brett Murray's practice is largely dedicated to political satire. His work acts in conversation with current events and is intended to expose the South African government's corruption. He has exhibited extensively in South Africa and abroad, including the Cuban Biennial (1994), Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art in Santiago, Chile, Museum of African Art, New York, and Kunsthaus in Basel, Switzerland.
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