“I’ve reached a point of saturation when it comes to privileged artists stepping into marginal communities without any consideration of how their privilege shifts the dynamics of the dialogue with their subject. There has to be a reflection on how privilege is premised on and perpetuates power disparities.”
Throughout her career, in work largely consisting of moving-image installations, South African artist Candice Breitz has explored the dynamics of how an individual becomes him- or herself in relation to a larger community. That group can be the immediate family, or real and imagined communities shaped by questions of national belonging, race, gender, and religion as well as the increasing influence of mainstream culture. Most recently, Breitz’s work has focused on the conditions that produce empathy, reflecting on a media-saturated global culture in which strong identification with fictional characters and celebrities runs parallel to widespread indifference to those facing real-world adversity. She is currently working on the third installment of a video trilogy that reflects on the attention economy.
