Athi-Patra Ruga

Artist biography:

Born: 1984, Umtata, South Africa

Athi studied Fashion History and Design at Gordon Flack Davison Design Academy in Johannesburg. Exploring the border-zones between fashion, performance and contemporary art, Athi-Patra Ruga makes work that exposes and subverts the body in relation to structure, ideology and politics. Bursting with eclectic multicultural references, carnal sensuality and an undercurrent of humor, his performances, videos, costumes and photography imagine a world in which cultural identity is no longer determined by geographical origins, ancestry or biological disposition, but has become, increasingly, a hybrid construct.

His recent exhibitions include: 'Beauty and Pleasure in Contemporary South African Art' at the Stenersen Museum (Oslo, Norway); the Guangzhou Trienalle (China), 'Ampersand' at the Daimler Collection (Berlin); 'A Life Less Ordinary - Performance and Display in South African Art', (United Kingdom); 'For Those Who Live in It' - Pop culture Politics and Strong Voices, MU Foundation (Holland), 'Athi-Patra Ruga - The Works', Solo Exhibition at FRED (London); Dak'Art - Biennale of African Contemporary Art (Dakar).

Athi-Patra Ruga was also recently included in the Phaidon book 'Younger Than Jesus,' a directory of over 500 of the world's best artists under the age of 33. His works form part of private, public and museum collections here and abroad.

Artist Statement:
Beiruth's name is derived from a pun around the middle-Eastern city of Beirut - a play on the theme of 'Orientalism;' but more importantly, he is the illusive figure that qualifies the autonomous body against that of the sovereign state. Through the use of craft, performance, video, sculpture and photography, this body of work investigates ideas of displacements and dislocation in relation to constructs of gender, race, identity, intimacy and sexuality. Combining images and popular iconography, Athi-Patra Ruga interrogates the problematic concept of the Utopian idea within a Western art historical context.