Preparing for the exhibition
#12 First Light, with new grasses included to accentuate the sense of the dawn
This coming Sunday my A Year in Nature exhibition will be opened at the Cape Gallery, an event clearly defining the rhythm of my life at the moment as each artwork is critically assessed, photographed, the edges prepared and hanging toggles attached. These are the practical issues, all which cover the inner anticipation of hanging this show and inviting the public to see the artworks themselves for the first time. The few who have edged their way into the studio usually express their surprise at the scale of the paintings, an aspect difficult to gauge from the Internet images and Africa Geographic publications. Others speak of the volume of work, especially the amount of painting that I managed to achieve in a week, and on reflection, even I am surprised at this, which partially explains why my weeks seem much longer now that the year is over. As to the success of the artworks themselves, that I will leave up to you, and invite you to come and view the originals, and to share in many of the experiences which defined a year which I will never forget.
An invitation
The A Year in Nature exhibition will be opened by Peter Borchert, Founder of Africa Geographic, with a few words by Michaela Strachan, BBC wildlife presenter, at the Cape Gallery, Church Street, Cape Town on Sunday at 16h30. The exhibition will then be on view during normal business hours till Saturday 27 October. To preview the works on show, you can go to the Cape Gallery page
A close-up view of the gold-leaf edition of Mapungubwe Revisited
My Mapungubwe Revisited sculpture (52Artwork #42) was officially unveiled at a gala evening at the Mapungubwe Museum, where it was displayed alongside the original 152 mm gold rhino. This event, sponsored by HSBC Africa, once again showed the incredible levels of concern around the plight of the rhino, and offered me an opportunity to share my perspectives of re-evaluating our relationship with the earth around us based on the approaches of two artists working eight hundred years apart. The theme of ‘Ancient meets Contemporary’ was well received, and to date eight of the twelve gold-leaf rhinos have been sold, as well as 16 bronzes, all in aid of the wonderful work WWF-SA is doing through its rhino programme. This was an extraordinary event which left me deeply humbled.