Robin Rhode

Major exhibition by South African artist Robin Rhode. A recognised talent on the international art scene, Rhode has a growing reputation for brilliantly inventive performances, photographs and drawings. This is the first UK solo show of Rhode's work and the first exhibition curated by Stephanie Rosenthal, the chief curator of The Hayward.

Raised in Johannesburg, Rhode's art personifies a playful do-it-yourself aesthetic which he states comes from his South African upbringing. Using simple materials such as chalk and charcoal, Rhode uses the pavements, streets and walls of the city as his paper, canvas and backdrop. These 2D drawings are then brought to life by performance and captured on film or photograph, as our protagonist tries to blow out a chalk candle, juggle with charcoal balls or ride a chalk bicycle.

Soap and Water (2007) is a sculpture of a bike cast from soap and subsequently left to dissolve as it battles the English weather on The Hayward's sculpture courts. Sculpture is a recent departure in practice for Rhode, which like the transient nature of his street drawings and performances use materials that are impermanent, such as soap, charcoal and chalk.