William Kentridge @ Edinburgh Printmakers

Kentridge fuses elements of theatre and film with his own visual language

★★★
archive review (edinburgh) | Read in About 1 minute
Published 03 Aug 2007
33332 large
100487 original
The ability to multitask is often strived for and, with a little concentration, it is occasionally achieved. William Kentridge, the current exhibition at Edinburgh Printmakers', has reached this altered state of simultaneous roles – with success. Kentridge fuses elements of theatre and film with his own visual language.

The South African artist, combines many mediums within his work but these varying avenues centre on his powerful charcoal drawings. The intensity of his black marks and smudges is often paralleled by dark underlying themes in his work.

One of the focal points in the show is his Ubu Tells the Truth series. Set out in acts and scenes each piece pays homage to the story’s foundations in theatre. The character has a duality: an inner and outer image, distinguished by a variety of different drawn marks.

Upstairs one encounters Kentridge’s stone age filming technique; used to create animations. He films his drawings as they transform through erasure and alterations which results in quite basic cartoons. They move beautifully and instil a sad, seriousness into their tales; often inspired by post apartheid South Africa.