By Thembinkosi Goniwe
Sales’ work is concerned with creative avenues of perception and the possibilities of alternative realities, thus her work leans towards abstraction. Mining archives and referencing astronomy, Sales constructs aesthetic objects whose geometric and symbolic shapes become visual sites for imagining a world different from our social reality.
300 x 300 x 600 cm. Mixed media installation. 2011
Devoid of overt sociopolitical concerns, Sales’ Satellite Telescope makes reference to a satellite that was sent into space from Kenya in 1970. The success of this satellite through innovative radiation technology revealed the great wonders of an infinite universe beyond our own world.
Besides this reference to scientific artifact, the work offers not only a temporary escape from entrapment of material reality as it transports us to an imagined space; it also offers the possibility to imagine different worlds, in particular for those who are yearning for a world beyond their grasp.
300 x 300 x 600 cm. Mixed media installation. 2011
Sales’s work is utopic, created through visual illusions that might offer relief and comfort for those who are looking for an opportunity to appreciate beauty and pleasure.
by Thembinkosi Goniwe
Excerpt from Desire: Ideal Narratives in contemporary South African Art. South African Pavilion Venice Biennale 2011
See Also: The Exhibition | An Introduction By Genevieve Wood | News On Participation In The 54th Venice Biennale