Where: White Walls Gallery
Event Date: November 10, 2012
Event Time: 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Location: White Walls Gallery 835 Larkin St San Francisco CA 94109
Exhibit Dates: November 10 - December 8
For more details: http://whitewallssf.com
White Walls is pleased to present “CONGO,” a solo exhibition featuring new works from British artist Jonathan Darby. “CONGO” will feature a collection of mixed media paintings on wood as part of a gallery-transforming installation. The opening reception will be Saturday, November 10th from 7-11 PM, and is free and open to the public for viewing through December 8th, 2012.
Darby’s intentions are for viewers to not recognize the gallery space and his installation will be an incredible culmination of painting, sound, photography and film. Each work of art within “CONGO” is a response to Darby’s recent work in the war torn eastern city of Goma where he directed painting projects along with children’s charity, AptART, of which he is the co-founder and Creative Director.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, formally Zaire, has immense economic resources but has been crippled by one of the worst humanitarian crisis in the modern era. The conflict has been termed “Africa’s World War” involving seven neighboring nations and claiming more than five million lives, the highest number in any conflict since World War II. Eastern Congo currently hosts the world’s largest United Nations Peace keeping mission. However, the violence is so endemic that not a single generation alive today has ever known peace. Despite the severity of the situation, DR Congo is rarely featured in headline news. Rapes and killings have continued for so long that they’ve become commonplace. The scale of the problem makes it appear hopeless and the world has stopped paying attention.
The future of this apparently hopeless situation is the children. To revive exposure for this tragedy and perhaps provide some hope for its future, Darby literally plunged himself into the humanitarian trauma working directing with street kids. He continues to take on the decidedly difficult task of combining socio-political subject matter with a genuine sense of beauty and honesty. The pieces depict bright-eyed children engulfed by the entropy of their environments while harsh texts and graphics tell a narrative of life in conflict.