South African art champs have united again. Since shock rave-rap duo Die Antwoord’s art roots were uncovered, it’s not surprising Harmony Korine was all over that, but no collaboration makes more sense than Die Antwoord and Roger Ballen, as immortalized in the “Finks U Freeky” music video.
If someone punches you in the face fokken hard, it makes you stop thinking about everything except, ‘What the fok just happened?’ Suddenly we stopped liking all the music and art we had made up till this point and decided to throw it all away. This new dark comic book world was the fokken answer! We wanted to move into this world and leave our old reality behind. This new world was so alien but also so strangely familiar. So mysterious comforting and exciting.
There’s an entire photography show dedicated to this collaboration opening at the Mouche Gallery in Los Angeles tomorrow night. Woo.
Roger Ballen’s photography is renowned — stark, monochrome, surrealist, revelatory, grimey… sometimes heartbreakingly so. Take Ballen’s usual immersive repertoire of South African reality and insert the stylized, charismatic protagonists of Die Antwoord with all their bravado… and it’s magic. Sure. But it should make you at least a little bit uncomfortable.
“I Fink U Freeky,” Roger Ballen, Apr 27 – May 10, Opening reception with Roger Ballen Apr 26 7-9pm, Mouche Gallery, Los Angeles (Images via Juxtapoz)
