Eddie Botha
Target Aim, Hit Miss
8 March – 2 April 2023
Opening | Thursday 9 March 6 – 8 pm
Fox galleries presents ‘Target Aim, Miss Hit’, a new series of works that explore an understanding of what it means to move freely, with autonomy in an increasingly complex interconnected world.Â
South African – born, artist Eddie Botha, who resides in Melbourne, playfully narrates: how do you live a meaningful life? Disrupted concentric rings that reference the relational movements of our identities; colourful, scrolling figures that intricately roam his mixed media paintings. With more questions than answers, with each step taken, the call to action is the expression of agency, and more importantly, targeting the things in life that truly give value.
Eddie Botha States:
We are targets in many ways, our identities are being stolen, our personal information, marketing companies target us hourly, and the world faces military threats. But we are told to be happy. What keeps us going? Our togetherness, our unity as a human race, our friends and families. We are all in this together.
EDDIE BOTHA
Botha’s work is driven by what is happening around him and where it is produced. The importance of context is seen with the inclusion of the exact date and location of production. Keeping his work light- hearted humour for Botha plays an important role, lightening the mood while pointing to serious issues the viewer can ponder.
Using found objects, collaged backgrounds set the scene for the story. Botha collages them into a partially painted background which he then draws on. The layered effects of the backgrounds are symbolic of concealing what has gone before and a certain renewal of the scene, allowing space to incorporate the ‘new’ story with the drawing, interpreting the present and, perhaps, revealing the future.
