Ravelle PillayThe Rough, 2024
Ravelle Pillay (b.1993, Durban, South Africa) considers the legacies of colonialism and migration, and their subsequent hauntings and reverberations in the present. She draws from found and family photographs and the material degradation of images over time to consider agency, memory, and life-making.
‘The Rough’ is a depiction of Sewsunker “Papwa” Sewgolum, a South African golfer of Indian descent who has an incredible talent but was banned from participating in South African tournaments by the Apartheid government. Beyond the story of injustice and indignity, Pillay sees this work as a continuation of her larger project and engagement with archives, one in which she continues a restoration of personhood and easing up the constraints of history.
Pillay’s first institutional show, Idyll, opened at Chisenhale Gallery, London in 2023. This followed a residency at Gasworks London at the end of 2022. Group exhibitions include: (Un)Natural : Constructed Environments at the Nasher Museum of Art (2023-2024) and Soulscapes, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, 2024.
Collections include the Nasher Museum of Art, Durham.
