Our dusky-green Toyota sets out on its journey and in its wake leaves a plume of ruby-coloured dust as it speeds towards "the coolest place to be on any given Sunday afternoon!" (this is what I was told anyway.) The use of these specific words as a description to such a space automatically moulds my expectations into a one-of-a-kind Picasso painting (there was, literally, a picture of utopia in my head.)
Looking in
Parking in front of a quaint little house with high rise walls, I take a triple-take (yes, I took three takes for me to realise that was it) and wonder to myself if this is really it. When I heard the term, "The 4Room," I thought a modest, 4 room home. Yet, tucked away in an infamous township surrounded by shanty homes, immersed in Kasi flavour and fragranced by distinct red dust, is a place that made me question how art galleries should look and feel. I was always under the impression that such a space should be stark white as to not distract from the art displayed on its walls. To me, the art gives the otherwise lifeless space character and, for a lack of a better word, Life! In this part of the world, however, the rules do not apply. This art gallery in particular has gone out of its way to throw the universal rule book out and do things the Kasi way.
Why Art Is!
The entrance welcomed us and the first thing adorning the weathered grey wall is a framed green background the likes of what you are thinking right now. Something so simple that there is no doubt in my mind that the artist put absolutely zero imagination in the piece. Yet, when I look at it with my eyes wide shut, I see so much more. I see a green screen (yes, you read right). A green screen the size of a small mirror charmingly perched on your bedside table that continuously vies to compel you to recite the words: "mirror, mirror on the wall.." (you know the rest.. ). That piece represents a world of possibilities. I mean, think about it, to a moving picture company, a green screen is a gold mine for a fantasy come to life (computer-generated imagery anyone?). Creatures stolen straight out of one's imagination and worlds the likes of Pandora (you know?.. where the blue people live) are created with the use of theses screens. Standing in front of this piece feels like falling into the same rabbit-hole Alice was gobbled up by (you literally feel like your imagination has left your being). My mind's eye automatically took over thus creating what art is - whatever the cogs between my ears see as an extension of the piece in front of me. To another, however, it will look and make them feel something only recognizable to them since imagination will only go as far and wild as its leash will allow. And isn't that what art is about?
The Look & Feel
Not even 3 meters from the entrance, I had an eye-opening experience of what art should be (to me). I must admit I had an Oprah moment of realisation and took a fourth look around. Those bland art gallery spaces fed to me by the gatekeepers that make television what it is have slowly stunted my ability to think of such spaces as anything other than what they say they are. This exhibit was housed, instead, on a landmark holding within it a rich history of people making history. The walls were not as symmetric and lacked a sleekness that perfection requires. They were rough to the touch, slanting in some areas and crumbling in others. This art gallery looks lived in and its embellishments only enhancing this fact. This human condition of its imperfections has made this space a gallery to remember for a lifetime.
On an early Sunday evening, hidden in a hushed street in a township called Tembisa stands a flickering flame known only as The 4Room. An art gallery that comes alive with artistry crafted to deliver an experience like no other. On that early Sunday evening I saw an art showcase hosted in a gallery with so much life within its walls I simply could not fathom how society deems these spaces worthy of nothing more than a single coat of white paint.
