Strauss & co - Wits Art Museum

36 WITS ARTS MUSEUM ENDOWMENT AUCTION 23 Kim Berman (b.1960) Rifle range, Roodepoort I, 2009 Monotype on paper 78 x 106 cm 2009 Donated by the artist R8 000 – 12 000 Kim Berman, Associate Professor at the University of Johannesburg and director of Artist Proof Studio, is well-known for her commitment to social and political transformation in contemporary South Africa. When South Africa was struck by a wave of xenophobic violence in 2008, Berman turned to her art to process the events. In Rifle Range, Roodepoort I, Kim Berman’s portrayal of a bleak, brown landscape is strongly contrasted with the white refugee tents meant to ‘protect’the thousands of displaced ‘others’ who fled the extreme violence in the cities. According to the artist: ‘[They] became a stark symbol of the nation’s failure to accommodate diversity.’However, Berman also remains hopeful: ‘In my work, landscapes have always provided a metaphor for South Africa’s transitions as a country: the light on the horizon sparks the energy and hope for the cycle of change and imperative of renewal.’  LdB