Stuart Bird

Bird explores the position of the individual and in particular of the artist in contemporary South Africa. This land of promise is a place full of exciting dynamism, but also potential dangers. His personal struggle links to the process of coming to terms with his country’s legacy of conflict and violence, an inheritance that he has no choice but to live with. In White Might he presents a flag on a pole made of a destroyed canvas. The white flag, widely recognized as a sign of truce or ceasefire, symbolizes a request for negotiation or surrender. Persons carrying it are not to be fired upon.

Stuart Bird (1977, South Africa) lives and works in Cape Town. He received his MFA from the University of Cape Town. He worked as a church interior restorer in the UK, and he has been involved in various community-based initiatives. Bird has exhibited internationally at group shows and art fairs.