Based on lectures given in Oxford in 2024, this book reveals what precedes creation: the passing of time, the creative postponement, the daily gestures, the bad ideas, the rounds around the work table. Kentridge tells with humor and lucidity how, one day, something emerges and becomes a work.
From his grandfather's arrival in Johannesburg to his father's commitment against apartheid, Kentridge interweaves family narrative and artistic reflection, particularly on his first attempts to link art and politics. Through six chapters and the journey from her various studios, to her current studio in Johannesburg, the book explores the boundaries between the intimate and the collective, the creative process and the responsibility of the artist.
Images of "A natural history of the studio" by Delpire & co. Images courtesy of William Kentridge.