'Problem Child' an exhibition by MOTELSEVEN
MOTELSEVEN has always had a sense of childlike whimsy in her creation of art in all its forms. Whether it be painting, graffiti or MOTEL’s 10-year-stint in pastry, expression of the melancholy of her younger days has always been a theme carried through her artworks. MOTELSEVEN’s upcoming solo exhibition “Problem Child” features her distinct style, where Japanese manga, graffiti, beauty and nostalgia interact in the surreal world she creates.
“This show is about making peace with our inner child and to allow our flawed sense of self to be free from ourselves and the superficial world around us,” she says. MOTELSEVEN has been living and working across the UK and Europe for the past few year but has fittingly returned to her childhood city of Cape Town for her solo exhibition at the WORLDART gallery this month.
The exhibition dissects the increasingly overwhelming world in which we live, and which oftentimes feels difficult to navigate. In these times of chaos and discomfort, we tend to look back on our childhood- a time which felt safe and all the nostalgia that comes with these feelings. Through the use of bold primary colours, dreamy pink-tomes, and 80’s and 90’s pop culture, MOTELSEVEN accurately depicts this feeling of childlike wonder in a both beautiful and sad way.
About MOTELSEVEN:
MOTELSEVEN started painting graffiti at 16 and had her first solo exhibition at the age of 21. After a few successful gallery exhibitions, she began travelling for the next 10 years, only doing graffiti writing, outdoor murals and public art festivals, mainly in Europe and in the US.
She is a member of the notable graffiti crew 40HK and one of the first women to paint graffiti in post- Apartheid South Africa. A gender-neutral tag like MOTELSEVEN allows graffiti writers and street artists to communicate a message and exercise create their art without the stigma associated with their gender in everyday life.
She has since painted in cities all over the world- from a solo exhibition in 2022 with Los Angeles gallery Thinkspace, to the Investec Cape Town Art Fair and the RMB Latitudes Art Fair in Johannesburg, MOTELSEVEN’S legacy as a masterful self-expression artist remains.
