Representations of Otherness and Resistance

and the Other. An exhibition about the Other, however, runs the risk of sustaining dominant social ideologies and thus can be considered as much a fabrication and representation of the Other as that which it seeks to undermine. In other words, one has to come to terms with the fact that exhibitions like this may inadvertently reproduce the dominant notion of the Other, without questioning or resisting stereotypical notions of the Other. One way out of this seemingly endless cycle of reproduction of power relations is to always keep in mind that the artwork, any artwork, is invested with spiritual, emotional and ultimately transformative power.

Each artwork on display subscribes to that type of language, not to a colonial discourse. Each implies a new, rational method of representing truth and order in the world, a longing for the ability to discover another reality behind the seemingly endless parade of stereotypical representations. They look at strangers as sufficiently similar to us all to venerate and respect.

In this regard, the Other, in psycho-analytical terms, is essentially a form of self-awareness, in the Hegelian sense. Jacques Lacan, drawing on Hegel philosophy, concurs that the Other is nothing else but a confirmation, a ratification, of the Self. He calls this the Symbolic order. This order is juxtaposed by two others: the Imaginary order and the order of the Real. What is most real, however, is the attainment of language, a new language of the Self and the Other. This exhibition compels us to learn to speak another language.

Lacan, J. 1966 (2002) Ä–crits. Norton.

Said, E. 1978 (2003) Orientalism. Penguin Modern Classics.

Tyson, L. 2006 Critical Theory: A User-friendly Guide. Routledge.

Wilhelm van Rensburg is a Research Fellow at the Visual Identities in Art and Design (VIAD) research centre, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA), University of Johannesburg (UJ).