(The cover
photograph – see below)
Apart from
supporting an excellent cause, this is a beautifully-presented publication
which will be valued by the owner long after 2020 is over. – Caroline Smart
I have just had the privilege of viewing acclaimed Durban-based sculptor
Andries Botha’s latest project which focuses on the subject very dear to him.
One of South Africa’s most celebrated artists, Botha uses his art to
comment on the social and political challenges of his time. He has won several
awards including the Volkskas Atelier Merit Award in 1987, the Cape Town
Triennial Merit Award (1988), the Standard Bank Young Artist Award (1990) and
the National Vita Art Award (1992). He also has installations around the world.
(Right: The cover
for April - Lux Temba))
Impressively bound in transparent light green perspex, Andries Botha's Elephant Book is a fascinating
combination of a booklet about elephants, a calendar and a notebook. The
production costs are sponsored by the Human Elephant Foundation
(http://humanelephant.org/)
“The story of elephants is important to all of us,” explains Botha. “Combining
a book with a calendar suggests to me that on every day of every month, at
least for year 2020, you will think of elephants, at least daily. Reflect on
these extraordinary mammals who, for now at least we share space with, in
Southern Africa.”
There is an absorbing explanation of how he works to create his
creations. There are also interesting facts about elephants. Each calendar
month carries a photograph of one of his works.
(Left: The four
elephants at the side of the freeway entering the city of Durban)
Photographs include one of the contested group of four elephants
which grace the entrance to the city. The work created a political upheaval but
fortunately a High Court order prevailed to restore the elephants that had been
commissioned by the City of Durban via contract and now they remain in their
majesty.
Botha explains the cover photograph (see above) as follows:
“You can buy my Heart and My Soul:
Nine elephants on the beach at De Panna formed part of Botha’s
submission for a public artwork for an outdoor exhibition on the beaches of
Belgium. King Leopold I established a holiday home there in 1831. The dunes
between De Panna and Dunkirk were the backdrop for the evacuation of British
troops during World War Two. At high tide, the front elephants are virtually
immersed in the sea as if they are in search of another destination. The
melancholy of these elephants walking into the sea is like a song that best
describes the sadness and folly of all that happened now and then, in our name.”
“Supporting this purchase will not save elephants or the planet but
hopefully will prompt you to consider what it will mean and take to change how
we live on and in this beautiful planet, to begin to change our poor industrial
habits and to realise that it is our responsibility to give something more
living and sustainable to our children and theirs,” Botha concludes.
The cost of the book is R250. A signed limited edition silkscreen print
can also be purchased with the book R500.
Postage in South Africa is R99 (aramex) - https://youtu.be/vvQpQN1chRw
EFT information
South Africa
Acc name: Dipco
Bank: Nedbank
Branch: Musgrave 130-126
Acc number: 1301208647
Ref: Elephant book
Place your orders at email: publish@digniti.co.za
Kindly include your postal address. For more information contact (+27)
(0)31 206 1591
Apart from supporting an excellent cause, this is a
beautifully-presented publication which will be valued by the owner long after 2020
is over. – Caroline Smart
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