Solo exhibition celebrates square pegs in round holes

Lorraine Marcus’s second solo exhibition of 2025, on display by appointment at the Rabbi Cyril Harris Community Centre (RCHCC) in Oaklands, Johannesburg, celebrates the discomfort of resistance, and reminds viewers that being a “square peg” isn’t only courageous, but necessary.

Marcus went back to basics with this exhibition, not with her art, per se, which is as complex in its messaging as ever, but in her choice of speaker: her youngest son. Asher Marcus, who creates art in his own right through his architecture firm, Hubo, spoke from the heart about his admiration for his mother as a person and an artist.

“My mother is an incredible talent,” Asher said. “She has the unbelievable skill of telling layered stories, with twists impossible to predict, in oil on canvas.”

His words weren’t unlike the speaker at her previous solo exhibition: South African artist Ricky Burnett, who compared her approach to that of his former student, William Kentridge.

“One of the most remarkable things about Lorraine is that [she has always] staunchly defended the right to be Lorraine,” he said.

This unwavering authenticity finds expression in the pieces selected for this exhibition. Hosted by the RCHCC, and with a prohibition on depictions of nudity, Marcus still manages to subvert expectations.

The most clear expression of this is in Boys Wear Pink, a commentary on the absurdity of policing the colours children wear based on archaic gender norms. As the mother to a queer son, Marcus states her commitment to celebrating diversity in all its forms.

It’s a theme that she explores further in Flower Boy. The boy represented isn’t wearing or surrounded by flowers, rather they form a part of his very flesh.

Marcus’s thirst for variety of experience is present in every other work as well, whether in the drama of the visceral brush strokes of Stop Woman Abuse or the dark subtlety of the flowing colours of Two Figures in Rehab. A collection of portraits features distinctive characters, each envisioned as an interview subject, communicating a clear message: there are few better ways to heal our individual and collective wounds than through listening to the perspectives of those once silenced.

To view the artworks, contact Lorraine Marcus on +27 83 469 2562. For further information, visit https://www.instagram.com/lorrainemarcus_art/