Artist Statement
Rumbo Mercy navigates through stories of displacement and disorientation. These are embedded in migration and citizenship, time and transportation. Through worldbuilding, escapism and narratives of a strange yet familiar fictional place, it reflects the decontextualisation of “third culture kids” - people with multiple cultural contexts and identities who cannot integrate into any group due to misaligning backgrounds and locations. She explores retro-futurism, archival recordings, historical sites, liminality and surrealism alongside inspiration from Synthwave music. She uses imagery and multimedia disciplines to combine the familiar with the unfamiliar, creating a dreamlike realm of reflection and introspection.
Bio
Rumbo Mercy (b. 2002) is a mixed media artist who employs surrealism and retrofuturistic imagery to discuss cultural identity and displacement. Her work has been exhibited domestically in South Africa, as well as presented on digital platforms. Mercy debuted as an international artist at her solo exhibition “Into the Insula”, a multimedia exhibition of her recent works, in North Carolina, The United States of America (2023). Mercy was shortlisted as a Finalist for the 2022 Wits Young Artist Award awarded to the top youth artists in the region(2022). Mercy participated in Digital SUPERPOWERS! led by UK-based artist Ling Tan and exhibited at the Fak' Ugesi exhibition as part of this project (2021). She exhibited Into the Insula (2022) and Prologue of Space Kid (2021) at the Screen(In) TIme video exhibition in Johannesburg (2022). Mercy is fulfilling her BA FINA degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She lives and works in South Africa.