Gerhard Human / New release: ‘Punks in the gym’

Continuing a central theme in Gerhard Human’s work, Punks in the Gym posits layers of questions rather than certain answers.

Just what are we seeing in this original screen print?

A booze-fuelled brawl – or ritual combat? Anti-establishment anarchy – or nihilistic disaffection? The necessity of violence for revolution – or the anti-war sentiments of novels on the bookshelf? A commentary on our polarised society’s forceful convictions – or on impotent theoretical debates thrashed out in domestic comfort, while outside, the world burns?

The picture is a kind of apocalyptic reverie, where even the polarised colour palette is one of conflict, simultaneously belying the ambiguities of the subjects in question. It is a masterful portrayal of Human’s signature mood.

 

Punks in the gym by Gerhard Human

Gerhard Human (b. 1980) is an artist, animator and comic creator from Cape Town, whose graphic, comic-style visual language draws on a diverse array of references: outlaws, punks and misfits; 90s youth culture – anime, videogames, MTV, skateboarding; literary philosophies from the last century; ritual combat – from jiu-jitsu to street brawls; bleak desert landscapes distinctly South African. Undergirding these, in the artist’s words is “the notion of desolation, but with a strong underlying mood of uncertainty and exploration”, and saturating his work is an acidic, jarring colour palette reminiscent of 90s fringe cartoons, which arrests the viewer with its dystopian appeal. Ultimately, Human’s concern is with ideas about cultural stubbornness, short-sighted idealism and political ignorance, his intention to expose the absurdities of our humanity, prioritising the search for answers over unquestionable clarity.

Human has exhibited in galleries in South Africa, Amsterdam, New York and Sydney and is published online and in print. He also works as a creative director at the animation studio Masters and Savant.