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The Futility of writing 24-page letters

Item date(s): 2010

Leora Farber


Medium: Paper; Linen; Vinyl; Wood
Size: Variable
Edition: Installation unique, prints edition of 10


Place publication: (Johannesburg, RSA)
Publisher: The artist

Reference note:
The artist states:

'The texts of the letters, and the extracted quote, were written by the colonial Englishwoman Bertha Marks in reaction to her husband Sammy Marks's typically Victorian, condescending, paternalistic and chauvinistic response to her lengthy letters to him whilst he was away. Bertha's words, intimate and personal as they are, struck me as particularly poignant. They speak of a sense of futility - time, energy and effort wasted; frustration and hurt at not being appreciated, acknowledged or heard by her husband, and being dismissed as child-like, because of her gender. And ultimately, for me, her words evoke a deep sense of unfulfilled desire, longing and loss, epitomising the futility of investment.'

Exhibition notes:
Included on the exhibition 'Transgressions and Boundaries of the Page', exhibited at WOORDFEES 2010. Archive Room in JS Gericke Library, University of Stellenbosch, 1st - 6th March 2010; The Gallery of the North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 15th April - 13th May 2010; the FADA Gallery, Faculty of Art Design and Architecture, University of Johannesburg, 12th - 30th July 2010.

Ref: DP/10066















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