Games Arcade, Carlton Centre, Johannesburg ,
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Notes : From 1976 to 1978 William Kentridge was a student at the Johannesburg Art Foundation under Bill Ainslie and taught etching there during the following two years. It is during this period of studying and teaching such a demanding graphic technique, that this rare early etching was produced. Using the cross-hatching method to capture the lively scene, he creates an atmospheric space bristling with competitive intensity as men, hunched over the counter, battle to out-do each other.According to a note from the artist, this is an “an early etching – 1978 or 1979 – series of etchings based on drawings done in a games arcade in Carlton Centre. Dropping coins and seeing if they would knock other coins off a shelf to a slot the player could reach. There were no casinos in Johannesburg then”.The etching was bought directly from the artist by the current owner around 1990.
Emma Bedford
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