9 Films ,2004
Provenance : [Propriété non datée]
- Private collection, Cape Town
Exhibited :
Literature :
Notes : The iconic 9 Films was created for the landmark first South African showing of all of Kentridge's animated films, 9 Drawings for Projection. A monumental example of the image, this particular reproduction measures an astounding 2.14 x 1.5 meters, over two separate sheets.
Set in Johannesburg and created over a period of 14 years the films show the changing socio-political landscape of the city, from Johannesburg: Second Greatest City after Paris (1989) to Tide Table (2003). Kentridge chronicles the rise and fall of his fictional antihero, Soho Ecksteen – a character represents wealthy landowners of Johannesburg empires. The artist uses imagery of Ecksteen’s wife’s passionate affair with his nemesis and alter ego Felix Teitlebaum, against the backdrop of the changing political circumstances – showing the upheaval of a South African uprising against the apartheid regime from which Soho benefits.
The original screening of 9 Films for Projection took place in the poignant setting of The Old Fold, Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. Once the site of a prison which held political prisoners including Nelson Mandela, it is today the home of the Constitutional Court. The screening took place over three sittings and featured music by the artist's long-term collaborator, composer Philip Miller, performed by the Sontonga Quartet and pianist Jill Richards.
The original drawing from which the lithograph was created is included on Kentridge’s prolific retrospective at Zeitz MOCAA, Why Should I Hesitate: Putting Drawings to Work, (August 2019 to July 2020) and illustrated in colour in the exhibition catalogue.[1]
[1] See, Christian, S. & McIlleron, A. (2019). William Kentridge: Why Should I Hesitate: Putting Drawings to Work, London: Koenig Books, p. 271.
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