OTHERNESS : a solo exhibition by Corné Eksteen

In his 1934 text, “Mind Self and Society from the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist,” George Herbert Mead stated that social identities are created through our on-going social interaction with other people and our subsequent self-reflection about who we think we are according to these social exchanges.

Mead’s work shows that social identities are negotiated through agreement, disagreement, and negotiation with other people. We reassess and adjust our behaviour and our self-image based upon our interactions. Ideas of similarity and difference are central to the way in which we achieve a sense of identity and social belonging, thus establishing the idea of ”the other” as a binary opposites for social categories.

His work has taken on a new significance for me in our hyper-connected, social-media driven society of the 21st century. Using his notion of otherness as key to understanding how social identities are constructed and how social & cultural minorities are identified, often marginalised and represented / rejected within a society, this body of work will focus on individuals from social groups that could be considered as my “other.”

Works from this series will explore and confront not only my own personal “others” but also attempt to confront viewers with their “others.”

View available works by Corné Eksteen here>>>