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South African artist Stuart Bird creates sculptures, videos, and installations, often utilizing type, that speak to the socioeconomic situation of his present day country; South Africa’s potential for greatness existing side-by-side with empty government promises, hence the title of his recent solo exhibit: Promise Land. The show included the pieces shown here, the top three images being stills from Bird’s video Calling shot on a cellphone. The video documents the act of inscribing the words ‘Revolution’ and ‘Counter’ onto the roof of a building with an acetylene torch. From the artist:

It struck me, that the ideological lines between a counter-revolutionary and a revolutionary could be blurred and confusing. And I wondered about the recurring nature of revolutions, implied even in the alternative meaning of the word itself… The work ties into “Promise Land” in various ways, not least because socially and politically we are in the midst of a revolution, albeit a slowly unfolding one.

You can see more of Stuart Bird’s work at the Goodman Gallery’s website.

via Goodman Gallery and artthrob