Join us for the online launch of MATTHEW KROUSE the new exhibition by Adam Broomberg at KUNSTHALLO, London.

During this hour- long Zoom conversation, the three speakers will explore the archive of material that Adam has exhumed from the radical artist - "the most censored man in South Africa" - now on display at the London-based gallery.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6459655435?pwd=bnBSSklnZmxFYVd0QVRvM3N3RUxrZz09

Passcode : HALLO

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PRESS RELEASE

'I was sixteen when I met Matthew. He put his tongue in my ear.'

Adam is telling me about Matthew Krouse: the South African writer, artist, performer and LBTQI activist. They met in The Dungeon, a gay club in downtown Johannesburg. He was the most censored man in apartheid South Africa. Infamous, Adam says. For all the right reasons.

Matthew began making performances in an old apartment in Johannesburg. In 1984 he became notorious for a play about the architect of apartheid, Hendrik Verwoerd. Following a widely-publicised trial, the play was banned. Subsequent works were equally scandalous, repeatedly censored by the authorities, leading to his arrest and detainment.

In the late 1980's he wrote and co-directed two politically-scandalous films: 'Die Voortrekkers' and 'The Soldier'. Fiercely attacking the apartheid government, both films vandalised the narrative of the Great Trek - the founding myth of the apartheid ideology. In 'Die Voortrekkers', Krouse staged a gay porn scene in the Voortrekker Monument, the sacred heart of Afrikaans Nationalist identity.

In 1990, Matthew joined the Congress of South African Writers at the invitation of the Novel prize winner Nadine Gordimer. In 1992 he edited 'The Invisible Ghetto', the first LGBTQI anthology from the African continent. From 1998 until 2014 he was the arts editor of the South African Mail & Guardian newspaper.

When I invited Adam to exhibit at Kunsthallo, he left me a long voicemail. He was telling me about a radical artist whose work had been forgotten by a fickle art world. I'm thrilled that Adam has exhumed and ordered Matthew's archive, and that we can present it on this small platform. The first of many shows, I hope.

Two years after Matthew's tongue met Adam's ear, they met again. Borrowing a VHS camera, the anxious student went to interview the legendary filmmaker. Half-way through the interview, Adam realized his subject had nodded off. He left with a 60 minute tape of Matthew Krouse, fast asleep.

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Matthew Krouse (b.1961 South Africa) is a writer, artist and performer. In the 1980s his work was repeatedly banned: scandalizing right-wing elements, he was perceived as a national hero to some and threat to others. In the late 80s he wrote and co-directed two underground films: De Voortrekkers and The Unknown Soldier. In 1990 he joined the Congress of South African Writers, becoming an illustrator and editor of The Invisible Ghetto, the first gay anthology from the entire continent. From 1999 to 2014 he was arts editor of the South African Mail & Guardian newspapers.

@krousem

Adam Broomberg (b.1970 South Africa) is a contemporary artist, activist and educator living and working in Berlin. He is a professor of photography at the Hochschule für bildende Künste (HFBK) in Hamburg. For two decades, he was one half of the critically acclaimed artist duo Broomberg & Chanarin. His work is held in major public and private collections including the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou and others.

@adambroomberg

Kunsthallo is a project space in London curated by artist Jeremy Hutchison. The programme explores the reception and display of art in the post-Covid, post-truth era. Generously supported by a circle of collectors, each monthly exhibition is accompanied by a discussion series. For all inquiries ingrid@kunsthallo.com

@kunsthallo / @jeremyhutchison