University of Johannesburg Exhibition: Willing to Share | Pain is Love

Our wonderful Artist-in-Residence, Philiswa Lila, installed her exhibition in the University of Johannesburg Humanities Common Room in February 2022. The exhibition showed Philiswa's personal reflections on gendered violence, and her interpretation of interviews carried out with women in Johannesburg. 

Philiswa writes, 'A group of first year students came to the exhibition and engaged with the artwork. They asked a lot of questions about the art and shared how the exhibition space made them feel, as well as reflecting on every day experiences. We had a majority of male students visiting the exhibition space. They opened up about the struggle to share their emotions because of how they can be shunned and seen as weak or ridiculous, and suicide being the result of not being able to speak out. The students also spoke opnely about love in relation to how and where they grew up and how that influences their sexual experiences as young men entering University'

Artist: Philiswa Lila

All images by: University of Johannesburg