- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
Artist turns Johannesburg's decay and dysfunction into vast canvas
When artist Robin Rhode needed a canvas for his latest work, he found it at an abandoned sports ground in his dysfunctional hometown of Johannesburg.
Beneath the waist-high grass, broken bottles and occasional bullet casing, he uncovered a decades-old miniature golf course, indoor soccer fields, and a tennis training wall. And that's where he started drawing.
The 48-year-old grew up not far from the sports ground but 20 years ago moved to Berlin as his career took off internationally. He paints on walls, sets fire to pianos, and draws everyday objects like keys and lightbulbs in chalk and charcoal.
"My work is deeply rooted in Johannesburg, and I think one of the reasons is that the city functions as a kind of rough, decayed canvas in many ways, that's almost calling for a new narrative to be drawn or painted" onto it, he told AFP.
Often Rhode works in outdoor spaces where much of his work will wash away -- the images preserved in often playful photographs, where he or his collaborators pose with the drawings.
His work has been bought by heavyweight institutions like the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He has also collaborated with U2 and won the 2018 Zurich Art Prize. Although he could work anywhere, Johannesburg keeps calling him back.
"Coming back from Berlin, and travelling around the city, and seeing the collapse of these structures, it's had a really profound effect on me," he said.
"It's motivated me to come back to South Africa and to revitalise these structures."
- Abandoned spaces -
Just 15 years ago, Cecil Payne Stadium had undergone a massive upgrade to become a training ground when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup.
Now abandoned by the city, the fencing is slowly being stolen for sale as scrap. Two indoor soccer fields are a weed bed. A private sports club is keeping the main fields functioning even as squatters build encampments in a nearby wetland at the foot of a mountainous mine dump.
Johannesburg has had 10 mayors in eight years, some serving just weeks, making local government resemble a game of musical chairs.
Amid the political chaos, a regional commuter train service collapsed, street lights went dark, and routine maintenance at places like the stadium simply stopped.
For Rhode, the decay provided inspiration for a collection called Joburg Hymn. He drew lightbulbs on the tennis courts while his brother Wesley flew a drone overhead to take images of him posing in black with the drawings.
Another series combines the visuals with music performed by Cape Town piano prodigy Qden Blaauw, and an original song by Johannesburg performers Maxime Scheepers, Love Sechabe and Kevin Narain.
"Working with Robin always reminds me to be hopeful and optimistic," Narain said. "What we do gives new life to the landscape. It revives a forgotten past and makes it relevant. I always leave set feeling hopeful about what I do."
The music they created plays over the images in one of Johannesburg's most prestigious galleries, CIRCA, with more photos at the nearby Stevenson Gallery.
Both venues are a far cry from the cracked courts where Rhode's drawings are already fading but which provide fertile ground for his creativity.
"The rough Johannesburg canvas serves as inspiration for me... It serves as a means for me to come back and inject a kind of energy and life, a new narrative into these decayed worn-out spaces," Rhode said.
"And also to allow my art to function as a critique to various political structures that are collapsing. I want to use my art as a mechanism for change."
Th.Berger--AMWN