CHILD FOREVER

Artists

Thandie Keet

9T

This exhibition marks the culmination of one segment of a broader initiative aimed at integrating creativity and art into the communal dialogue surrounding grief. It delves into the notion that death and dying compel us to reflect on our origins, rekindling aspects of our identities that time may obscure. Moreover, it prompts us to acknowledge that life is punctuated by losses, suggesting that it is prudent to mourn all wounds to find the resilience and clarity needed to forge ahead. The exhibition serves as a dissection of the poet's personal encounters with loss, displacement, and the complexities of identity, race, and relationships.

Similar to the accompanying book, the exhibition is a collaborative effort between the poet/artist Thandie Keet and the graphic designer 9T. The book serves as both a visual and textual exploration of grief. Initially conceived as a tribute to the poet's mother, it evolved into a means of processing not only that loss but also the multitude of smaller griefs that life presents. The book represents an ongoing project that will be extended to the community through workshops, focusing on the role of creativity in well-being and the grieving process. Participants will be encouraged to delve into the expression of their griefs. Concurrently, efforts are underway to adapt the book into an animated online format.

The book has been exquisitely designed with stunning graphics that transcend mere meaning and messages. It offers a vibrant and fascinating journey and conversation between colours, words, and visuals.

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Thandie Keet has always written poetry. Before she could write, she made it up in her head. Her dad was a poet, and her mother spent her teenage years memorising and reading poetry. Maybe those two loves of poetry met in the ovum that became the poet, and maybe she had no choice.

Poetry has been part of how Thandie makes sense of the world, feelings, and other people. Thandie feels it links her to a sense of divinity, the unknowable, and wonder. She often says, "It feeds me and heals me." Sometimes Thandie's poetry leans into clichés to squeeze more out of them and subvert them. Sometimes she can't find one when it’s most needed. When the poet wants to make sense of something complex, poetry steps in and finds a rhythm and words to match the feelings. To translate and help hold them.

Thandie was born in Zambia. Her dad was an Angolan freedom fighter, a poet, an athlete, a journalist. Her mother was a white Jew born in Zimbabwe, an academic, a historian, a political activist. Like her parents, Thandie has never been only one thing. She is a mother, a poet, a visual artist, a nanny, a counsellor, an outsider. Thandie believes art extends beyond word and image into deed and action and that artistry is part of the everyday stuff of life.

Thandie's father died when she was about four, and in many ways, she feels more like her mother’s child. Though she often finds what feels like her dad inside herself through poetry. Poetry has linked Thandie to that thing that feels like him. Her Africanness. An identity that is steeped in the tradition of the storyteller. Instinctively motivated by the desire to speak and share and make a better world. As such, Thandie has performed on the spoken word circuit in London and will be expanding that aspect of her creativity in the near future.

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For Ninety, growing up around reggae sound-systems/bands and Hip Hop culture from an early age produced a dancer, poet, and graffiti writer. As the original Hip Hop elements encouraged self-expression in many forms, Ninety became immersed in word, sound, power, image, and movement. A break came when Edwin Starr (Motown) asked him to produce some illustrations and paint his stage set for his upcoming European tour. This led to painting shops and club interiors with his graffiti partner Scorn from the A.C.C. Ninety then began making handmade flyers and painting backdrops for music events. The positive feedback propelled him on the course of image making.

After studying art and obtaining a degree in graphic design, Ninety settled in London and worked for the design company 'The Unknown', producing record sleeves, logos, and promotional material for various labels/bands in the music industry. He did this from the 1990s onwards, including designing the So Solid Crew logo among many others. Through those years of painting and designing regularly and being involved in collaborative art projects, Ninety's spirit of creativity was encouraged, leading him to start his own graphics studio, ONEDRINPEN, around 2006. This gave Ninety a chance to take on projects that presented a challenge and helped further develop his style and skill set. For example, art directing and designing the worldwide distributed magazine 'BOLZ', then collaborating to create animations for Exceptional Records and Lynx shampoo. Additionally, he created the visual identity for the band Natty and the Rebel Ship, including animated video, flyers, album art, logos, and merchandise. He also collaborated with Harris Elliott on the book to accompany the critically acclaimed 'Return Of The Rudeboy' exhibition at Somerset House. Recently, he has worked on a series of books with renowned photographer Dennis Morris, known worldwide for his portraits of iconic musicians, including the Sex Pistols, Bob Marley, and The Stone Roses, among many others. In the spirit of his early influences, Ninety continues to push boundaries and extend his vision in all aspects of his creative output.