One of the most consistently interesting artists currently working in Joburg must be Nadine Hutton. Perhaps from her years working as a professional photo journalist (mostly for the Mail & Guardian) she seems to have been rooted in the tradition of documentary photography.  However the trajectory of her art of the last few years has seen her pushing herself beyond the limitations of this tradition.  Even so, the two works that she exhibited at the Bag Factory’s 20 year show were a new departure, even for her.    Her latest works could be described as satirical techo-sculptures. An "engraved magic bullet vibrator" which jolted around a mirrored surface was entitled It’s not the size . . . It’s the motion of the Gautrain.  A modified arcade console video game which allowed participants to gun down rows of  pixelated zulu maidens was entitled Skirt Invaders and cheekily referenced the President’s polygamous/promiscuous proclivities. The console was being sold as a limited edition of 3 machines "+ Full MAME Multiple Arcade Machine Emulation" of approximately 5,500 games.  The editions were going for R19000 each; while a limited 1st edition (of 100) signed CD copies of the game  Win/Mac was on sale for R350 a throw.  What was particularly impressive is that she did the reprogramming of the original Space Invaders herself, using the manual.

_{photos by christo doherty}