Spade For Spade, 2009

This edition is part of Robin Rhode’s larger Walk Off series – a term borrowed from basketball that, for the artist, signifies the final frame that “walks the viewer off” the work. In this photographic sequence, Rhode performs a fictional act: wielding a real spade, he mimics the physical motion of digging into the wall. However, the "dirt" that seems to scatter from each impact is a chalk drawing, blending performance with illusion. As in much of his work, Rhode temporarily claims public space, drawing everyday objects in chalk before interacting with them – here, turning a two-dimensional sketch into a performative gesture. This interplay between drawing and performance is central to Rhode’s practice: the imagined becomes real because he treats it as such. Spade for Spade reflects Rhode’s unique ability to weave narratives from the textures of Johannesburg’s urban life, where cultural symbolism, street aesthetics, and absurdity collide in a language that is both playful and politically charged.