(Andries Botha with “Genesis, Genesis, Jesus …” –1989. Mild steel, lead wood, thatching grass)
... it takes everything is the title of an exhibition by Andries Botha at his exhibition space above the Ping Pong Café in the AmmaZulu Garden & Sculpture Precinct in Kloof.
“... within the geography of desire and the struggle for home, to make, to hold, to feel, to see, to be, to imagine, to respond, to become and to leave,” Botha explains the thinking behind the title.
(“Embarkation” – 1995. Stainless steel mesh, polyester resin, lead, polypropylene rope, plastic, electrical components, canvas, wattle wood)
“It is believed that wisdom is the capacity to hold the two contradictory ideas of hope and despair in one's mind simultaneously; this wisdom is expressed as sculpture, installation and concept. There is a stillness in the magnitude and elegance of committing a life to work; to create,” he adds.
Botha's "menswees", his conscience and his struggle for "ukuzizwa usekhaya" (isiZulu for belonging) present us with the haunting pursuit for truth and beauty through the duality of indigenous nature and classical form.
(“History of Monuments” – 1997. Lithographic aluminium plates, mild steel, galvanised wire, resin, lead, electronic components)
The works are cultural and historical documents produced in South Africa that reflect on the grace and trauma of our humanity. The expansive themes traverse binaries such as: power and helplessness; gender and violence; migration, identity and belonging; and our mark on the environment.
This body of work helps one understand the complex, yet inspiring, human journey that we have lived through in the last 40 years in South Africa.
... it takes everything is curated by Janine Zagel and Jessica Bothma.
“This will be a permanent exhibit and will be expanded into one or two extra sheds. In addition to this, there will be a programme of exhibitions and events which will be celebrating the KwaZulu-Natal sculptural tradition,” explains Botha.
“There will be individual as well as collective shows which interrogate the history and the celebration of the vast repository of sculptural creativity in this province. These exhibitions will include the many sculptors who have been nurtured in KZN. This programme will begin to be implemented early 2021 (plague dependent!),” he adds.
The AmmaZulu Garden & Sculpture Precinct is situated at 88 Kloof Falls Road in Kloof. For more information contact Hein Lottering on 083 244 7565 or email lottering.hein@gmail.com
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