Igshaan Adams: Weerhoud

‘Dream weaver Igshaan Adams’ giant candyfloss clouds carry the complex story of his life’ Crafts

This June, The Hepworth Wakefield will open a solo exhibition by South African artist Igshaan Adams.

Entitled Weerhoud, meaning ‘Withheld’ in Afrikaans, the exhibition examines the impact of lived experiences and traumas on the human psyche, with a particular emphasis on the healing potential of movement.

Adams will present three new commissions created specifically for the exhibition, consisting of two tapestries and one of his largest immersive ‘cloud’ installations to date. These new works will be exhibited alongside a selection of existing sculptures and textile pieces. Weerhoud presents an exciting development in Adams’ practice, shifting his focus from domestic spaces and landscapes to the body.

Igshaan Adams was born in 1982 in Bonteheuwel, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. He grew up navigating the complexities of identity under apartheid’s racial classification system. His work spans a wide spectrum, encompassing intricate tapestries, expansive floor and wall-based installations, and immersive suspended sculptures. Adams’ work focuses on the nuanced remnants of human experiences, examining the impressions – ranging from the barely perceptible to the obvious – left by individuals within their homes, cities, natural environments, and their own bodies.

‘The artist has a body of work that is certainly gorgeous – and sensorial. Tapestries, sculptures and installations explore materiality and notions of sexuality, race, religion, class and selfhood with delicacy and poetry.’ Crafts