Thornton Road ,
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Literature : Yazeed Kamaldien. (2008) Hasan and Husain Essop, Cape Town: Goodman Gallery, unpaginated
Taking familiar scenarios the Essops comment on the contradictions that consume contemporary Muslims. Thornton Road is a seminal image in this regard. The scene is located in a well-known street in a suburb with a large Muslim population in Cape Town. Its characters are Muslims who are seemingly pro-Palestinian. Some wear scarves with Palestinian flags around their necks while others drape themselves in military gear, sport jeans and t-shirts or don clothes to perform the islamic prayer. Under a massive red and white Coca Cola sign, a few charachters gulp Coco cola, staring vacantly, while others are actively militarised. Where does the push-and-pull end for contemporary Muslims? These are the contradictory views of the Muslim community with which the Essops grapple, and which are rooted in the reality of Cape Town's streets.
Shamil Jeppie. (2008) 'On Intention and Method', Art South Africa, vol.07, spring 2008, pages 48-49.
In Thornton Road, they are Muslim youth on the Cape Flats wearing long white tunics (variously called thawbs, jubbas or gallabiyas) and framed in postures of rebellion and protest. But the dominant image is a Coca-Cola sign and the consumption of the drink in one part of the image. Rebellion against power while at the same time consumption or subjection to the most famous global brands is a central contradiction of Muslim youth politics, this work seems to be saying.
Sue Williamson. (2009) South African Art Now, New York: Harper Collins. Illustrated in colour on page 302.
Thornton Road in Athlone on the Cape Flats is the site of a notorious incident of police entrapment, known as the Trojan Horse incident, in which innocent bystanders were shot by the police. The Essops point out that far from a memorial to this unhappy event, today a huge Coca-Cola sign dominates Thornton Road. Sardonically toasting this international symbol of consumerism, the Essops play out the roles of contemporary youth having fun.
Sue Williamson and Andrew Lamprecht. (2014) Unrest: Hasan and Husain Essop, Goodman Gallery, illustrated in colour on page number 61
Notes : Hasan & Husain Essop were the recipients of the 2014 Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Visual Arts.
Edition of 8 plus 2 Artists' Proofs
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