JAKE MICHAEL SINGER

murmuration series
We are all familiar with the African myth of Horus, the
sky god who came to “take care of suffering humanity”.
Horus was the son of Osiris and Isis, the rulers of Par-
adise. Osiris’s brother, Set, usurps him and takes con-
trol of the kingdom, sending it into famaine. Horus is
exiled in the delta lands but eventually returns to Par-
adise to avenge his father. After 80 long years of trial
and conflict, Horus triumphs and Set is banished to the
desert regions. Horus then became known as the Uniter of
two lands and is commonly represented as a bird.

These works are created using techniques that draw on

traditional thatching and emergent behaviour. Emergent
behaviour is a system that does not depend on its indi-
vidual parts, but on their relationship to one another.
This phenomena exists in the way birds flock, to the way
the internet is organised, to artificial neural networks
in computer science and robotics. Singer uses this prin-
ciple in the organisation of thousands of steel pieces,
typically used for security fencing, to create a symbol
of transcendence.

This series is a metaphor for progress, where a plethora

of tiny peices come together to form a coherent whole;
from chaos to harmony. Reading the work left to right,
one might see the figure taking flight, like the Nike of
Samothrace; read another way, it appears to be a bowing
anthropomorph. This ambiguiety is achieved because the
figure is headless, placing the viewer at the centre
and making the work more enigmatic. It is explosive and
momentary like a crashing wave; while dynamically and
delicately-poised like a dancer; it may even be felt
like a comforting hug. I see catharsis and celebration.

Technical Details
Marine grade stainless steel (316)
1000 x 1000 x 1700 mm
2018

There is research showing that marine grade stainless

steel (316) will corrode at a rate of 1mm every 1200
years in rural environments and 1mm every 250 years in
marine environments. This indicates that the work is
highly durable in outdoor environments.
THERE IS HUMMING IN THE AIR, 2018
IN LOW MURMURS IT BEGAN, 2018
DAWN CHORUS, 2019
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY ARTIST CV
Jake Michael Singer. b 1991, is a South
African multidisciplinary artist. In SOLO SHOWS
2013, Singer completed his bachelors at 2019
Michaelis School of Fine Art, Universi- -INVESTEC CAPE TOWN ART FAIR, MATTER GALLERY
CAPE TOWN
ty of Cape Town. He has also studied at
Central Saint Martins in London. 2018
-BUT A STORM IS BLOWING FROM PARADISE, MATTER GALLERY
TORONTO
Since graduating, Singer has held six -BUT A STORM IS BLOWING FROM PARADISE, KALASHNIKOVV GALLERY
solo exhibitions. These include Inves- JOHANNESBURG
tec Cape Town Art Fair 2019; and in 2017
-PALE STABILITY, PUNT WG
2018, Mattery Gallery, Toronto and Ka- AMSTERDAM
lashnikovv Gallery, Johannesburg; Punt -RGB SKY, HAZARD GALLERY
WG, Amsterdam in 2017 and two at Hazard JOHANNESBURG
Gallery, Johannesburg in 2016 and 2017. 2016
-CATASTROPHES, HAZARD GALLERY
Singer has participated in duo shows at JOHANNESBURG
Matter Gallery in Toronto 2017 and at 2013
50 Golbourne, London 2017. Significant -VESTIGES OF DEVELOPMENT, MICHAELIS GRAD SHOW
CAPE TOWN
group shows include The Main Complaint, DUO SHOWS
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art
2017
2019, Emerge Art Fair in Washington, DC
-NEST COLLECTIVE AND JAKE MICHAEL SINGER, MATTER GALLERY
2014, Art Lima 2015, FNB Joburg Art Fair TORONTO
2016, Suba Biennale, Dak’art in Sene- -NO LONGER AND NOT YET, 50 GOLBOURNE GALLERY:
gal 2016, Also Known As Africa (AKAA) in LAGOS X JOHANNESBURG WITH OLALEKAN JEYIFOUS
LONDON
Paris 2016 and 2017, Cape Town Art Fair,
GRANTS
2017. He has also shown in Basel, Ven-
EDUARDO VILLA FOUNDATION GRANT 2016
ice, Los Angeles and Perth. Recently he EDUARDO VILLA FOUNDATION GRANT 2017
was selected as an apprentice for Aida COMMISSIONS
Muluneh in the Kampala Biennale curated PUBLIC SCULPTURE COMMISSION FOR W+A BUILDING, NEW DOORNFON-
by Simon Njami, 2018. In 2012 Singer as- TEIN, JOHANNESBURG
sisted William Kentridge with The Refus- RESIDENCIES
al of Time. Singer is distinguished by a -NIROX FOUNDATION, CRADLE OF HUMANKIND, 2014
large scale steel sculpture at the top JOHANNESBURG
of the W+A Building, Johannesburg. -AIRWG, 2017
AMSTERDAM