Whatiftheworld / gallery

Solo exhibition

28 May - 27 June 2009

Opening Thursday 28 May 18h30 - 21h00

After two years in the making, Zander Blom’s latest solo exhibition and publication travels to Whatiftheworld / Gallery in Cape Town this June. The exhibition documents the travels of an idealist Machiavellian hero, guitar in hand, on a crusade to revitalise the arts of the culture capital of the world. Fueled by equal measures of blind optimism and hedonism, the search for new ideas and exotic flavours takes our hero to a fictional paradise setting where this bizarre satirical action tragedy literally starts to unravel. The Travels of Bad comprises a 48-page mini-novella with 17 photographic works and a 17-track album soundtrack. The exhibition also includes a selection of sculptures and merchandise.

Artist’s statement
The Travels of Bad is essentially a satire that looks critically at the influence that exotic cultures and their artefacts have had on the avant-garde system of European visual art from the end of the 19th century onwards. The critique comes in the shape of mini-novella that is illustrated by a series of photographic works and accompanied by a pseudo rock-opera type symphonic drone thrash metal rock album.

About Zander Blom
Zander Blom was born in Pretoria in 1982 and currently lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. Working as an artist since 2002, Zander’s physical output includes painting, drawing, printmaking, installation and photography. Zander’s first book and major solo exhibition The Drain of Progress was launched in September 2007 to significant critical acclaim. The show continues to tour extensively both locally and internationally forming part of a wide range of private, institutional and museum collections.