A major new talent on the international art scene, Robin Rhode has developed a growing reputation for brilliantly inventive performances, photographs and drawings, and for video animations in which he interacts in a remarkably realistic fashion with two-dimensional representations of everyday objects such as a bicycle or a car.
The artist's source of inspiration and space for action is the street, where his work explores situations that evoke violence and post-apartheid racism in Johannesburg, as well as sports and children’s games. Sharp-witted and often austerely beautiful, Rhode’s deft do-it-yourself art uses the barest of means to comment on urban poverty, the politics of leisure, and the commodification of youth cultures.
This book marks Rhode's first solo exhibition in Great Britain at The Hayward, London, 7 October – 7 December 2008.