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Air on the Skin , (detail), 2002. Incised original drawing, shoe polish, acrylic on 285 gsm Fabriano Rosaspina Avorio paper. 70 x 304 cm. Standard Bank Corporate Art Collection SASOL Wax in Art Competition , SASOL WAM! Festival, Sasolburg, South Africa, September 2002 A group show, curated by Lesley Cohn, of selected artworks submitted nationally for the competition. Sasol Corporation – the competition sponsor – is the largest producer of wax in the world and the competition was unique in that it challenged South African artists to create work in or through wax. The two categories: ‘Wax as the medium’ and ‘Wax as part of the process’ constituted the criteria by which works were judged. Air on the Skin (2002) – a one-off work – won the ‘Wax as the medium’ category. This 70 x 3 040 mm triptych was created by layering black shoe polish over pva-treated paper. The images were then scratched into this surface with a fine blade, gradually working from dark to light. Related content Press article ‘Paul Emmanuel Perfects the Fine Art of Turning Oddness into Transcendence, March 2003 ←Previous Next→

Exhibition view of Between Democracies 1989 – 2014: Memory and Commemoration , Constitution Hill, Johannesburg Between Democracies 1989 – 2014: Memory and Commemoration , Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1 – 30 September 2015 The theme of this exhibition responds to the emergence from totalitarian rule that has been a historical reality for both East Central and East Southern Europe and South Africa since 1989/1994. It is a collaborative international project and artists considered both the historicisation of transitional trauma and the effects of regime change (both positive and negative) on the collective memories lingering in their respective national psyches. Their responses problematised both past memories and the current direction of social politics. The exhibition will be first hosted in Constitutional Hill, Johannesburg, South Africa, from 1-30 September 2015. This venue was selected because it is an exhibition space that is historically relevant to the fraught history of the struggle for democracy in South Africa. The exhibition will then be presented at the Dom umenia/Kunsthalle Bratislava in March – June 2016. Subsequent venues and dates in Europe to be announced. Curators: Judy Peter (University of Johannesburg, South Africa), Karen von Veh (University of Johannesburg, South Africa), Richard Gregor (Chief Curator of Dom umenia/Kunsthalle Bratislava, Slovakia), Cristian Nae (George Enescu University of Arts, Iasi, Romania), Ljiljana Kolesnik (Institute of Art History, Croatia). Related content Intervention ‘Rising-falling’, 15 June 2021 Counter-memorial ‘The Lost Men France’, 1 July – 1 October 2014 Counter-memorial ‘The Lost Men Mozambique’, 24 April – 12 May 2007 Counter-memorial ‘The Lost Men Grahamstown’, 1 – 10 July 2004 ←Previous Next→

Exhibition view of Jack Ginsberg Centre for Book Arts Opening Exhibition , Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg Jack Ginsberg Centre for Book Arts Opening Exhibition , Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 March – 30 June 2019 Art collector and philanthropist Jack Ginsberg began collecting ‘artists' books’ (artwork in the form of books) in the early 1970s, and since then has amassed a world-renowned collection of more than 3,000 pieces, plus thousands of additional items related to this contemporary art form. Ginsberg recently donated his collection of artist's books to the Wits Art Museum (WAM), which has been accommodated in the newly dedicated Jack Ginsberg Centre of the Book Arts, a new addition to the WAM archives that will be a backdrop for future exhibitions. For three months WAM hosts the inaugural exhibition at the Jack Ginsberg Centre for Book Arts, featuring a selection of the collection's standout pieces. Curated by Prof. David Paton, Jack Ginsberg and Rosalind Cleaver. Including works by: Walter Batiss, Kim Berman, Joseph Beuys, Belinda Blignaut, Willem Boshoff, Sara Bodman, Louise Bourgeois, John Cage, Alexander Calder, Sonia Delaunay, Francesco Clemente, Steven Cohen, Christine Dixie, Jim Dine, Max Ernst, Olafur Eliasson, Paul Emmanuel, Gilbert & George, David Hockney, Jasper Johns, William Kentridge, Atta Kwami, Sol LeWitt, Robert Motherwell, Gerhard Marx, Judith Mason, Man Ray, Edward Ruscha, Lucas Samaras, Robbin Silverberg, Joachim Schönfeldt, Durant Sihlali, Richard Tuttle, Diane Victor, Kara Walker, Andy Warhol, Alastair Whitton, among others. Cathexis (2003) and an untitled work contributed to Robbin Ami Silverberg's book object Uhanga Dihangara were selected by the curators for this exhibition. Related content Exhibition ‘After-image’, 3 – 26 August 2004 Exhibition ‘Pages from Cathexis’, 30 April – 27 May 2000 ←Previous Next→

Get in touch with Paul Emmanuel or enquire about artworks, exhibitions and interviews Studio Email: studio@paulemmanuel.net

A chronological portfolio of all artworks created by Paul Emmanuel

Interviews and documentaries about works by Paul Emmanuel Commencement speech and honorary doctorate, Montserrat College of Art (2025) (Video 18 min 34 sec) Paul Emmanuel Interview 4/22 (2024) Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, USA (Video 20 min) Walkabout: Paul Emmanuel and Michelle Constant (2021), Moving Cube, University of Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa (Video 1 hr) Museum Moments: University of Johannesburg Art Collection (2021), Strauss & Co, Johannesburg, South Africa, (Video 1 hr 15 min 6 sec) The Making of Rising-falling (2021), Moving Cube, University of Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, (Video 3 min 53 sec) Paul Emmanuel – Art Exhibition – Substance of Shadows (2021), Hellenic Radio, Spotify AB, Johannesburg, South Africa, (Podcast 16 min 10 sec) Paul Emmanuel: Veil 1954 (2021), Moving Cube, University of Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, (Video 8 min 1 sec) Artist’s Talk by Paul Emmanuel on 8 September (2020) SARChi Chair: South African Art and Visual Culture, University of Johannesburg, South Africa , (Video 1hr 22 min 6 sec) Men and Monuments: A Conversation with Paul Emmanuel (2020) Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa, (Video 1 hr) Hatefree Talk: Paul Emmauel (2020) HateFree Culture, Prague, Czech Republic, (Video 1 hr 21 sec) Cure: Paul Emmanuel (2020), UJ Arts and Culture, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, (Video 2 min 44 sec) Paul Emmanuel: Remnants (2017) Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa, (Video 1 min 30 sec) The Weekend Edition (2016), SABC TV, Johannesburg, South Africa, (Video 6 min) Remnants Opening Speech by André Croucamp (2015) Freedom Park, Pretoria, South Africa, (Video 16 min 10 sec) Paul Emmanuel on Lost Men Project (2015) SABC TV Morning Live, Johannesburg, South Africa, (Video 6 min 17 sec) Paul Emmanuel Acknowledges Soldiers Who Are Forgotten Through Art (2014) SABC TV Morning Live, Johannesburg, South Africa, (Video 4 min 30 sec) Remembering a Counter-memorial: Making The Lost Men France (2014) Paul Emmanuel studio, Johannesburg, South Africa, (Video 10 min 33 sec) The Lost Men France (Promotional video) (2014), Paul Emmanuel studio, Johannesburg, South Africa, (Video 1 min 47 sec) A Quest for The Lost Men France (2014), Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria & Institut Français, Johannesburg, South Africa, (Video 27 min 52 sec) Paul Emmanuel Talks to MICA (2011), Falvey Hall, Brown Centre, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, USA, (Video 34 min 43 sec) Marc Steiner Chats to Paul Emmanuel (2011) The Marc Steiner Show, WEAA 88.9 FM, Baltimore, USA, (Podcast 33 mins) How the Transitions Multiples Lithographs were Made (2011) Vimeo, (Video 4 min 48 sec) How the Transitions Drawings were Made (2011), Vimeo, (Video 2 min 42 sec) Paul Emmanuel South African Artist (2010) TRANSITIONS at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington DC, USA Voice of America TV news (Video 3 min 6 sec) Transitions at Oliewenhuis Art Museum (2009), SABC News channel 3 (Afrikaans bulletin), South Africa, (Video 1 min 48 sec)

Paul Emmanuel Artist Statement I would like to say that I try to portray the body as a site of metaphorical and literal struggle; and that I explore the way mental and physical landscapes interact in their construction of memories and identities. I would like to say that I am committed to deconstructing limiting cultural assumptions concerning masculinity. But the truth is there is no such cleverness. My explanations are all retrospective. I am not sure if my work comes from a profound intellectual grasp of social realities. It comes out of being a sensual participant in the world and sometimes it feels as if I have only a tenuous grasp of reality. It is inspired by feelings and aesthetics rather than words and ideas. When I do have ideas, they are not grand literary constructs, profound philosophies or urgent political messages. My ideas are simple frameworks within which I can move. They act as a kind of scaffolding, not as descriptions, explanations or maps. They allow me to perform my feelings through the labour of intense, rigorous, time-consuming mark making. The photographic references I work from are devices that allow emotionally laden textures to emerge on a surface. The obsessive mark making is the only real control I have over confusing feelings about my own identity, gender, sexuality and power. Categories blur and it feels as if I dissolve into the spaces between the marks. The only thing that is certain is change. I hardly ever know where I am going – it is a wonder that forms appear at all. When I was younger, I was seduced by the potential of something emerging out of the soft, velvety blackness. I have always worked reductively from dark to light. The process feels insubstantial and tenuous and often leaves me feeling scared and uncertain about what is trying to emerge and whether I can keep going. The viewer may embed meaning in these surfaces and they can never be right or wrong as I do not assume to know the meaning myself.

Independently produced catalogues and books featuring works produced by Paul Emmanuel Paul Emmanuel, 2020. Texts by Annette Becker, Karen von Veh and Pamela Allara. Edited by Karen von Veh. Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg. Softback, 72 pp plus cover, 260 x 240 x 7 mm. ISBN 978-0-620-87116-7 ‘Paul Emmanuel: Remnants’, 2017 ‘Paul Emmanuel: Remnants’, 2016 ‘Paul Emmanuel: Transitions Multiples’, 2011 ‘Paul Emmanuel: Transitions Multiples’, 2011 ‘Paul Emmanuel: Transitions’, 2010 ‘Transitions’, 2008 ‘Paul Emmanuel: After-image’, 2004 ‘Imbali: Printmaking workshops with Paul Emmanuel at Fordsburg Artists Studios 2003, Funded by the Ford Foundation’, 2003 ‘Ekupholeni – Place of Healing. Printmaking workshops with Paul Emmanuel at Fordsburg Artists Studios, funded by the Ford Foundation’, 2001

Installation view of 3SAI: A Rite of Passage , 2008. High-Definition, single-channel video, stereo soundtrack, 13 min 58 sec Permanent War: The Age of Global Conflict , Barbara and Steven Grossman Gallery & Mrs. E Ross Anderson Auditorium, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA, 29 January – 7 March 2015 In the century since World War I, coined “The war to end all wars,” battles have raged on around the globe. The nature of warfare has changed dramatically with wars no longer beginning with formal declarations or ending with peace treaties; instead, violence spreads underground, with terror surfacing in ever-changing locations; drone warfare merges politics with computer games; news from far-flung battlefronts is devastatingly immediate. January 29–March 7, 2015, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA) will tackle this difficult subject with its spring exhibition, Permanent War: The Age of Global Conflict , guest curated by Pamela Allara. “The many commemorations in Europe of the centenary of World War I inspired me to propose a war-themed exhibition to Joanna Soltan, SMFA Curator,” says Allara. “Although the nature of war is rapidly changing, its death and destruction remain. The artists included in the exhibition examine our state of permanent war with insight, courage and not infrequently, ironic humor.” Organized into five themes—Mechanized Bodies, Combat as Performance, Living in a War Zone, Conflict as Media Entertainment, and Landscape as Cemetery—Allara brings together 16 artists to explore the lives of military and private citizens are surveyed, manipulated, controlled, and threatened in this era of perpetual warfare. ARTISTS Matthew Arnold, Claire Beckett, Bill Burke, Bonnie Donohue, Paul Emmanuel, Harun Farocki, Coco Fusco, Adam Harvey, Ken Hruby, Lamia Joreige, Richard Mosse, Trevor Paglen, Jamal Penjweny, Sig Bang Schmidt and Steve Dalachinsky, Paul Stopforth, and Mark Tribe. 3SAI: A Rite of Passage (2008) was selected by the curator for this exhibition. Related content Short film ‘3SAI: A Rite of Passage’, 2008 Exhibition ‘Transitions’, 27 September – 31 December 2008 ←Previous Next→

The Lost Men Project (Grahamstown) , 2004. Digital program, touch screen, headphones, pedestal. Dimensions variable. Edition 3 Navigating the Bookscape: Artists’ Books and the Digital Interface , Aardklop Arts Festival, Potchefstroom, South Africa, 25 – 30 September 2006 Curator David Paton invited five artists to produce a work for a show of traditional and contemporary ‘artists books’ to “... open up questions around what the digital interface can bring to the conventions of the codex.” – (Robyn Sassen). The exhibition featured an interactive work, The Lost Men Project (Grahamstown) (2006) – a digital program running on a computer concealed within a custom-designed pedestal supporting a touch sensitive monitor and headphones. A soundtrack entices the viewer to touch the screen depicting a photographic close-up of the artist’s skin bruised with embossed names. Each successive touch induces a change of image as the names slowly disappear. Related content Counter-memorial ‘The Lost Men Grahamstown’, 1 – 10 July 2004 ←Previous Next→

Paul Emmanuel AFTER-IMAGE (2005) Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa Info After-image Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa 5 – 29 April 2005 The third showing of this touring solo exhibition comprising early etchings and lithographs, photographs from The Lost Men Grahamstown (2004) and a major drawing also entitled After-image (2004). This drawing is permanently housed in the main reception room of Villa Arcadia as part of the Hollard Collection of South African Contemporary Art. After-image was exhibited in South Africa at the US Art Gallery, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, The Old Fort at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, Gauteng, Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein, Free State and Villa Arcadia, Hollard House, Johannesburg, Gauteng. An illustrated, colour catalogue with essay by Julia Charlton was printed and published by US Art Gallery. Press release from Art Source South Africa [PDF] Catalogue essay by Julia Charlton Article by Alex Dodd for Business Day Art newspaper Article by Yvette Greslé for Art South Africa magazine

Still from 3SAI: A Rite of Passage , 2008. High-Definition, single-channel video, stereo soundtrack, 13 min 58 sec 7th Sedicicorto International Film Festival , Forlí, Italy, 4 – 10 October 2010 This short film festival is held every year at the beginning of October in Italy, in the beautiful town of Forlì. It aims at offering visibility to the short film genre, offering its audience a careful selection of a number of short films submitted from all over the world. The festival is divided into four competitive sections: MOVIE: International Fiction Films ANIMA and LAB: International Animation and Experimental Films DOC: International Documentary Films CORTITALIA: National (Italy) Films of any genre 3SAI: A Rite of Passage (2008) was officially selected to be screened at this festival 2010 in the LAB category. Related content Short film ‘3SAI: A Rite of Passage’, 2008 Exhibition ‘Transitions’, 27 September – 31 December 2008 ←Previous Next→