Biography
Brian Montshiwa lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa. They completed their Honours Degree in a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts with three distinctions from the University of the Witwatersrand and one award of Outstanding Work in Fine Arts). A choreographer, performer, and visual artist, they are Interested in self-writing as a form of space-making, fugitive and indigenous praxis. Their diverse body of work includes drawing, installation art, performance art, printmaking, and text painting; through the strategic use of found objects, affect, gesture, performativity, and repetitive labour, they construct a multifaceted body of work that challenges conventional norms. By employing unconventional metaphors, Montshiwa introduces a fluidity into the construction and dissemination of histories. They foster a sense of curiosity and critical thinking, encapsulated by the phrase "Think Otherwise, "prompting viewers to consider alternative perspectives and embrace a spirit of inquiry and inclusivity.
They are a recipient of a number of prestigious awards, including the Anya Millman Scholarship for Outstanding Work in Fine Arts (2022); and the Blessing Ngobeni Prize (2021). Their exhibition listing is impressive, with solo exhibitions including A different kind of inheritance and a different kind of inhabiting(2021), Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg; and Suna Lebota, durational performance (2021), Church Project Art Space, Cape Town. Group exhibitions include Imagined Inevitabilities, Kunstverein Braunschweig, Germany(2023-2024); Senses (2023-2024), Goethe Institut, Johannesburg; Abadali (2023); Reflections (2023), Bag Factory Studios; FNB Joburg Art Fair (2022); At Odds (2022), Turbine Art Fair. They have also participated in the Bag Factory Residency (2022-2023), as well as the Abadali JP Morgan Mentorship Programme (2022).).
Synopsis
A queer love letter to the queer community is a time-based performance and installation that examines pinkwashing as an ongoing phenomenon in modern queer visibility. Through repetitive actions of washing, dyeing, and physical labor, the work reveals how queer identities are stylized, disseminated, and commercialized—especially during Pride Month. Located within a South African context, the performance contemplates the influence of globalized “pink economies” and questions what types of inclusion arise when visibility is linked to consumerism.
