PULSE was founded by the artist Greg Streak in February 2000. To him it was evident that crucial elements of the general debate around theory and practice of art in South Africa were missing before.
The objective of Pulse is to create a forum in Durban, South Africa for the cross-pollination of inter cultural debate through projects organised on an annual basis. These will include South African and international cultural producers and the focus of the projects will shift each year so as to accommodate issues or debates that might carry credence at the time. PULSE seeks to continually create projects that critique issues and debates of global relevance, to be inclusive of the exclusive and celebrate the idiosyncratic and intimate within the visual arts.
This website shows some of the activities of PULSE. See the personal website for more information.
.................................
read » 2011 Selection Dis-ease'exhibition in FAIVA, 4-26/11,Bamako, Mali
read » 2009 Exhibition 'Dis-ease, South African National Gallery,Cape Town (SA)
read » 2008 Conference Res Artis, PULSE in 'RAIN and Beyond'
read » 2008 Exhibition 'Dis-ease', Bank Gallery, Durban (SA)
read » 2007 KO Video Favorites to Video Festival, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
read » 2006 Human Insides
The project Human Insides was a response to a selection of articles written in various print media on developmental issues. These ranged from heart breaking stories of impoverished communities decimated by HIV and AIDS to another of a man lying dead for two weeks without burial because he didn't have an official identity document. The project sought to use these stories as catalysts to reference the problematic situations of several outlying communities in and around the province of KwaZulu Natal in Souths Africa. By giving them a visual voice through the production of several short films. The intention was to rainse awareness beyond the converted that read the highbrow print content.
Human insides consists of four film produced by the Indian artist Tushar Joag (OPEN CIRCLE)and Karen Logan, Vaughn Sadie and Tamlyn Young, all from South Africa.
The publication 'Human insides' was realised in 2007.
title
read » 2005 KO 1st Durban Video Festival
KO Video - First Durban Video Festival.
KO is the abbreviation for Knock Out, a term used in boxing, and the intention of the festival is to really put video out in the city of Durban in abundance and visually knock people out - and so it seemed an appropriate title. Naturally it also pays homage to the OK Video Festival held every two years in Indonesia - OK Video was in turn a homage to the Radio Head album OK Computer - and so in a very oblique way - the chain letter continues...
The spaces each hosted 2 loops for the month of October - one per day, alternating. The works were spread out throughout Durban - and there was more than enough time for all work to be seen. Each Venue carried a list of the works and duration apart of each loop - so that visitors could also return a different day to complete perhaps what they had not managed to see.
The opening event took place on September 30 at the NSA gallery - at which a selection was made of works from all the loops.
The works were shown at
1. Durban Art Gallery - city centre
2. N.S.A. Gallery - Glenwood (suburb west of city centre)
3. Art Space Durban - Industrial area North of city Centre
4. Imagination Lab - Berea West - 10 km outside city centre
5. Ikhaya Media Centre - Kwas mashu - township NW of city centre
Participants
1.Argentina - organised by the artists initiative TRAMA
2. Brazil - organised by the artists initiative CEIA
3.. Germany / Medienkunstpreis- organised by Bernhard Foos -
4. India (including Sri-Lanka and Pakistan) organised by the artists initiative OPEN CIRCLE
5. Indonesia - organised by the artists initiative RUANGRUPA
6. International - a loop of works from countries not apart of those mentioned
7. Japan - organised by the VIDEO CENTRE TOKYO
8. Mexico - organised by Fernanda Mejia, René Hayashi and Miguel (Mike) Rodriguez Sepulveda via artists initiative el despacho
9. South Africa - organised by PULSE
10. Netherlands - organised by the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten
Danielle van Vree, Delphine Bedel, Fendry Ekel, Igor Sevcuc, Tiong Ang, Pablo Ziccarello, Saskia Janssen, Meiro Kozumi, Siree v.d. Velde, Sara Masüger, Gregg Smith, Pauline Oltheten, Sara Rajeeh, Hans op de Beeck , Koen de Decker
read » 2004-2005 Blind Spaces
The exchange project Blind Spaces was an attempt to look at the notion of the neglected or marginalised within the cities of Durban, South Africa and Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The project was a collaboration between PULSE and CEIA (Brazil)- both of which are artist-run initiatives that form part of the RAIN Artists' Initiatives Network.
In December 2004, the Brazilians filmmakers Pablo Lobato and Joacelio Batista arrived in Durban to investigate blind spaces in and around the city. Owen Oppenheimer, former resident of the Rijksakademie and filmmaker from the United Kingdom, was selected by PULSE to join these artists.They worked together for one month.
In February 2005, reciprocation followed with a South African contingent arriving in Belo Horizonte. Filmmakers Greg Streak, Doung Jahangeer and geographer and social commentator Alexander Wafer went about investigating Belo Horizonte in a direct exchange with Marcos Hill (CEIA).
read » 2003 HIV(E)
PULSE initiated the project entitled HIV(E). This embraces the words HIV-the virus that causes Aids- and the English word hive.
The idea for HIV(E) was prompted by a visit to GOZOLO a centre for Aids orphans in Durban run by volunteers.
PULSE invited eight artists to participate in HIV(E) and examined how the artist could make a contribution to social projects without making concessions to artistic quality. As a result of their experiences in the centre and conversations with the staff, children and visitors, the artists gave shape to objects or ideas and desires that motivates
and concerns people there. The results were exhibited in Johannesburg in 2003.
Participating artists:Ade Darmawan, ruangrupa (Indonesia); Paul Edmunds, (SA); José Ferreira (United Kingdom/SA); Sofia Garcia Vieyra, Argentina (via Rijksakademie); Jena McCarthy (SA); Greg Streak (SA);
A publication Hiv(e)with texts by Greg Streak and Virginia Mackenny is part of this project.
read » 2003 OK Video Jakarta
On invitation of ruangrupa, Greg Streak curated a special presentation for the 'OK Video', the Jakarta Video Festival.
Participating artists include: José Ferreira (UK/South Africa), Stephen Hobbs (South Africa)
read » 2002 Violence / Silence
Violence/Silence was presented as two separate exhibitions that ran in different venues in South Africa. Violence took place at the NSA Gallery in Durban, Kwazulu Natal, and Silence in and around Nieubethesda in the Great Karoo. Although violence dominates the South African Landscape, Durban has been most hit by political violence. Nieubethesda, a small town of 1000 inhabitants, has fast become a haven for people who escape the noise of the city for the silence of a small town.
Intriguing about the relationship between Durban and Nieubethesda is that despite the fact that they are two distinctly different landscapes and sensibilities, there are the obvious interpretations of urban/rural and escape/engaged.
Both shows involved the same group of artists and the shows opened
simultaneously, albeit 1200 km apart. Four international artists (Marco Paulo Rolla (BRA), Bharti Kher (IND), Adriana Lestido (AR) and Ivan Grubanov (YU) along with 4 South African artists Paul Edmunds, Carol Gainer, Luan Nel and Greg Streak came together in Durban last June and worked towards the shows opening.
For 25 days the artists travelled between Durban and Nieubethesda .
Exploring the themes of Violence in Durban and Silence in Nieubethesda, they produced visual works for the respective shows that opened simultaneously on July 5th. Site specific works in the landscape of the rural area juxtaposed video projection, slide installations and performance works in Durban.The broadness of the themes allowed a flexibility and liberation for the artists. It was Their response. There were no –isms or –ations prescribed.
Exhibitions
.'Violence', 5/7-28/7/2002, n.s.a.
Gallery, Durban (SA)
.'Silence', 5/7-28/7/2002,
Nieu-bethesda,Great Karoo (SA) - in
collaboration with Ibis Art Centre,
Nieu-bethesda
.Violence/Silence, 12/11-28/11/2002,
US Gallery, Stellenbosch (SA)
Violence/Silence mini-conference:
15/07/2002, n.s.a.gallery, Durban (SA)
Publication 'Silence/Violence' with texts by Greg Streak, Paul Edmunds, Mary de Haas, Virginia Mackenny, Monique Marks, Otto Rank,Kathrin Smith
read » 2001 open-circuit
This first project of PULSE 'open-circuit' focused on new media and their relationship to traditional prcesses, the intersection of Western canons with Third World craft and the rearticulation of the relationship between the centre and periphery.
open-circuit consisted of a workshop,an exhibition (27/10-23/11/2000), a conference (27/10/2000), open-ciruit (closing) 27/2-5/3/2001) and a publication.
Paradoxically, when one refers to closed-circuits in the context of the art-world, one refers to the politics and hierarchies that create elitist enclaves - circuits which preclude. The primary focus of PULSE is the antithesis - to create a circuit that does not discriminate. It looks at trying to re-negotiate the power distribution allocated the centre and the periphery. The exhibition related to the first PULSE project will be titled open-circuit - the interface between Hi-tech and Lo-tech-. This seems an apt labelling, as it draws on the contradictions associated with the double meaning and ambiguity of the term.
The works that have been selected for this exhibition reflect the full scope of the interface between Hi-tech and Lo-tech. They have been specifically chosen because of the dialogues they will create with one another - both comfortable and uneasy. From video projections, to sound and mixed media installations, to object based work, to performance, and then those that are a hybrid of several simultaneously.
Participants: Siemon Allen, Mark Bain, James Beckett, Andries Botha, Kendall Buster, Isaac Carlos, Sebastian Diaz Morales, Paul Edmunds, José Ferreira, Virginia Mackenny, Marilyn Martin, Jo Ractliffe, Robin Rhode, Sharmila Samant, James Sey, Kathryn Smith, Greg Streak, Alex Sudheim, Jeremy Wafer.