52 ARTWORKS - A YEAR IN NATURE
On a journey of re-connecting with nature, I am creating and posting a new artwork each week for the period of a year, and sharing my thoughts and contemplations, leading up to a unique exhibition. See 52-Artworks
There is a place that I return to each year, high up in the mountains of the Cederberg, a place where, in the silence of the dawn I witness the hidden lives of genets and porcupines, and many others that tell their stories in the soft sands. It is a place of sacred geometry, where the painted caves of the ancient San are in perfect alignment with the geology, where the whisper of the grasses fill the vast spaces of the endless skies as I walk upon the land, and with time I come to remember the deeper knowing that this land gives me, an inner sense of connection, of belonging. (Excerpt from Noel’s Blog)
52-Artworks Blog | http://52artworks.wordpress.com/
The Wildlife Studio on Facebook | http://www.facebook.com/NoelAshtonWildlifeStudio
MAPUNGUBWE REVISITED - A NEW CONSERVATION SCULPTURE
800 years ago, a little gold rhino was placed in the royal grave at Mapungubwe, an important piece of African cultural history which inspired me to create ‘Mapungubwe Revisited’. This sculpture not only embodies the magnificent rhino, but also offers reflection on our inter-connected place within the wider living world. It will be released in a limited edition of 100 with proceeds donated to rhino conservation through WWF-SA and The Wilderness Foundation.
Find out more - Mapungubwe-Revisited
Watch the video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIuFvtz02MY&feature=youtu.be
“Noel and Belinda Ashton’s ‘Mapungubwe Revisited’ is a brilliant initiative to honour the rhino. The reverence of the ancient people for this wonderful animal is a sharp reminder to so-called civilized man to ensure that the species survives in our modern world.” Dr Ian Player
SACRED OCEAN - GLOBAL VOICES AGAINST THE CRUELTY OF WHALING
For many years I have stood at the edge of the sea and spent time with those magnificent mammals of the oceans, the whales, but how could I sleep at night knowing that they continue to suffer at the brutal hand of man. My Sacred Ocean sculpture now stands silently in the foyer of the Two Oceans Aquarium, inviting the world to join me and say no to the cruelty of whaling through the Great Whaling Debate.
“It is for ourselves, even more than for the whales, that we need to say No! No! No! to the killing of whales.” Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu at the launch of Sacred Ocean Sacred Ocean Campaign
JOURNEYS IN SEARCH OF THE WHALE - RETHINKING OUR PLACE IN A CHANGING WORLD
I have found that mankind’s complex relationship with the whale, ranging from a fascination which draws people to the edge of the sea, and the impassioned response to save stranded whales, in contrast to the brutality of explosive-harpoon whaling, has given me a powerful metaphor with which to explore our relationship with the world around us, and along the way to look closer at ourselves and our social and environmental paradigms.
A 55-minute Audio Visual presentation - more at Journeys in Search of the Whale
NOEL ASHTON WILDLIFE STUDIO - PO Box 760 Noordhoek 7979 Cape Town | Mobile 072 063 4676 | Email studio@noelashton.com