Casey Kaplan
When The Dust Settles A Conflict Of Identities Remains
Masterclass by Igshaan Adams, Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year, is rooted in his historical identity as a queer, coloured Muslim in Cape Town
by Nabeel Allie
23 January 2019
“When Dust Settles” is a sculptural and art-piece installed masterclass by Igshaan Adams, Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year 2018. The Bonteheuwel-born artist has also worked in myriad of other art forms, most recently performance art — rooted in his historical identity as a coloured Muslim in Cape Town — as well as a handful of portraits that form part of the “When Dust Settles” exhibition. Throughout a walkabout in early December, Adams repeatedly spoke about the conflict of identities and it’s evident across all the works that were on show — garden-fencing covered in cotton threads, vinyl hanging from the wall, the two-version portrait of himself, a mirror from prison in the sanctimonious space and more.
The conflicts and contradictions are rooted in him as a queer person of colour in Cape Town as well as his personal history, he says. His is not altogether dissimilar from many other personal histories in the Cape Flats, a place where heterogeneity, among other things, thrives.