Igshaan Adams: Weerhoud at the Hepworth Wakefield

Sculptural textiles are the focus of South African artist Igshaan Adams’s current exhibition Weerhoud at the Hepworth Wakefield.

The solo display showcases the artist’s large-scale woven works alongside more ethereal sculptural installations.

Through his oeuvre, Adams examines the impact of lived experiences and traumas on the human psyche, which, in this case, is mirrored in his choice to rework older pieces as if they have “gone through some kind of experience.” This involved taking some elements apart, folding them or exposing the unwoven warp of the tapestry. 

In fact, the title of the show “weehroud” in Afrikaans means “withheld”, referring to the body’s potential to store past traumas. The artist talks about his firm belief that in order to “dislodge” these, movement and ritual are an essential part of healing and this forms a foundation for some of his newest pieces on display. He worked with the dance company Garage Dance Ensemble established by Adams’ uncle and his partner. Dancers moved across an inked-up plastic on top of a canvas, resulting in a map of their movements, which formed the beginnings of new tapestries.

Despite the large-scale nature of the pieces on display, they also work on a micro level, inviting the viewer to look closely and absorb the intricate details. There are appealing, sensorial textures and a richness of materials: glass and wooden beads, metal chains, sequins and wires are all woven into the delicate hues of the weavings. Their pastel colours may deceive when, upon closer inspection, viewers will find a sea of brightly coloured, shiny dots.

Suspended from the ceiling, you’ll also find the ‘cloud’ installations that the artist is known for. These were initially created from the “mess” created from an abundance of things lying around his studio, and were then formalised into sculptural installations by carefully arranging tangled wires with the objects trapped inside them, from shells to chairs. In a literal sense, they can perhaps be seen as a representation of the complexity of the human psyche, that holds onto things encountered along the way and pushes them back into our subconscious.

Adams imbues his works with personal experiences of faith, sexuality and growing up under apartheid’s racial classification system but combines these difficult themes with slow and steady craft: perhaps the skill and focus necessary to complete the work can also aid the healing process.

For the show, Adams presents three brand new commissions, including two tapestries and one of his largest immersive cloud installations to date. Not one to miss, Weerhoud is as multi-layered as it is beautiful.