On

view

in

Prague:

William

Kentridge's

'The

Battle

Between

YES

and

NO'

‘The Battle Between YES and NO’ is the first major exhibition in Czechia dedicated to William Kentridge, one of the most celebrated artists of our time. Raised in Johannesburg during apartheid, in a family deeply committed to social justice, Kentridge became involved in anti-apartheid activism as a student. These experiences shaped an artistic practice that reflects South Africa’s social and historical tensions while speaking to universal human themes.

The exhibition title ‘The Battle Between YES and NO’ refers to a series of early prints and animations in which Kentridge playfully questions affirmation and denial, merging the words “Yes” and “No” into “Noise”. The exhibition follows his process and his long-standing interest in themes such as exile, language, and desire.

Designed as a spatial collage, the exhibition unfolds like a constellation of interconnected fragments. It traces Kentridge’s path from early charcoal films to his recent multidisciplinary projects, revealing his belief in complexity as an antidote to rigid certainty. While grounded in the South African experience, his work addresses universal concerns and emotions such as guilt, longing, despair, and the fragility of hope, resonating strongly with today’s world marked by political polarization, and the danger of uncompromising beliefs.