SMAC Gallery
PASSAGE by Alexandra Karakashian

Constructed by South African artist, Alexandra Karakashian, PASSAGE is a site-specific installation located in the East Wing Lobby of Somerset House. The project is thematically rooted in Karakashian’s ongoing exploration of her family history, particularly their escape from the Armenian Genocide of 1915, migration south through the African continent, and eventual settling in Johannesburg, South Africa. PASSAGE highlights societies’ relationship to ‘landscape’ and ‘place’ while confronting binaries of ‘black’ and ‘white’ against a backdrop of ‘natural’ tones that reference South Africa’s complex history and the artist’s own understanding of racial discrimination both locally and abroad. Through engagement with these concerns, Karakashian reflects on current issues at the forefront of Euro-African relations, such as exile, migration and ecological crises.

Alexandra Karakashian (b.1988, Johannesburg) graduated with a Masters in Fine Art from Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town, in 2015. She continues to live and work in Cape Town. This special project is supported by SMAC Gallery, South Africa.

Cape Town
The Palms
145 Sir Lowry Road
Woodstock
Cape Town 7925
South Africa
Tel: +27 21 422 5100

Stellenbosch
First Floor, De Wet Centre
Church Street
Stellenbosch, 7600
South Africa
Tel: +27 21 887 3607

info@smacgallery.com
www.smacgallery.com