February 28 – April 11, 2003
The exhibition highlighted the work of South African artist, Georgie Papageorge. She was born in Simonstown, South Africa, and educated at the University of South Africa, Pretoria. For years, Papageorge explored the idea of social and geological rift in Africa through the symbol of a mutating barrier concept. These concepts utilizing a Judaic/Christian cross symbolism plus a red and white chevroned banner/barrier in varying African environments, explore sacrifice and transcendence. Papageorge continued her exploration in the Africa Rifting-lines of Fire Project. Internalizing her search, she looked at the conflict between the physical body and the immortal soul. The symbol she explores is that of the schism of the African and South American continents, a split which 135 million years ago initiated the first appearance of the Atlantic Ocean. On and along the coasts of Namibia, Africa, and Torres, Brazil, Papageorge created two installations. She suspended long red banners to form a cross, or “X” formation which she then split into upper and lower halves to form a “V” on both coastlines. A second formation of red banners was laid flat along the beach parallel to the ocean to recreate the Rift Line that divided the continents. The Torres, Brazil, work was installed September 11, 2001. The long red banners in gale force winds became the transcended symbol of the catastrophic violence which occurred in America that day. On September 15, as part of the installation, 250 children from Torres carried long red banners, a healing rift in a living arterial line along the Praia Grande of Torres, Brazil. Papageorge has large numbers of work in collections in South Africa, and in collections at Rome, Italy; Munich, Germany; Lisbon, Portugal; London, England; Washington, D.C, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New York City, and the North Dakota Museum of Art. She had solo exhibitions at the North Dakota Museum of Art in 1992 and 1995. Many of her pieces are collaborative works, or events that come to completion on site. The Africa Rifting-Lines of Fire Namibia/Brazil event took place September 11-15, in Torres, Southern Brazil.
