(Right: Coral Bijoux: pic supplied)
Dreams as R-evolution (2019-2020), a site specific artbased installation in a plant nursery evolved before and during the Covid-19 lockdown on UKZN’s Westville campus. Enacted and dreamt up by artist and student, Coral Bijoux, who used her installation as an inter-disciplinary art–sculptural and plant installation to evoke the notion of dreaming as a form of activism.
Her long engagement with education, skills and social development; art-education and art-making brought her to this question – are we able to transform (ourselves), since transformation is embedded in much of our legislation, our policies and our intentions towards a country that becomes for ‘us’ – better.
The body of work took shape over nine months; commencing in 2019 and concluding its first instalment in 2020 during the national lockdown. Since then, it has lived for a full 18-months in the plant nursery; amongst the plants, insects, birds, animals and people that sometimes sought to relax there; worked there or bring their friends to, and/or as a place to rest, have their lunch or simply, a break. It was open to all; - students, adults, children, academic staff - were invited to visit, engage, and/or participate in talks and/or workshops. Go to: www.coral4art.co.za/gallery/dreams-as-r-evolution to find out more.
Subsequently, the Dreams as R-evolution journeyed to Cape Town’s IZIKO (iSANG) National Gallery (2021-2022) where it was re-installed by the artist over a 40-day period with technical support from the gallery. She “re-created” the plant nursery in Galleries #1, #2 and in the courtyard’s Inner Atrium; taking into account the parameters with which a heritage space operated. Shade-cloth – the material of a nursery became a suspended ceiling in the gallery; plants, trees, insects, animals and their shadows were re-imagined onto walls in the form of an extensive mural that filled Gallery #1, which she painted in shades of green, and sub-titled, Greening the Gallery (2021-2022) using it as a metaphor of our time.
The work has returned to KwaZulu-Natal; and is currently being re-installed at the Durban Botanical Gardens in collaboration with their lab’s Chief Specialist Tissue Culture Technician and Current Life Science’s PhD. Candidate, Viloshanie Reddy.
The conversation between art and science is unmistakable; taking it a few steps further bypassing any superficiality. Here, artist and scientist - have discussed each sculptural work and selected plants accordingly. They have engaged the relationship between these elements as they grow and develop into the exhibition space at the Garden’s Biodiversity House.
We have subsequently titled the collaboration, S.O.L.E.S. (Safeguarding Our Living Exceptional Species), which includes the installation of Dreams as R-evolution sculptural installation, the integration of space as a device (see www.coral4art.co.za/gallery-dreams-as-r-evolution/space ) and the exhibit of rare and exceptional plant species, such as cycads, clivias, orchids and much more. Biotechnological tools that include tissue culture and cryopreservation play a role in securing the growth and longevity of exceptional species whose natural habitats have all but diminished, that have been impacted by economic and social developments. These plants emphasize the plant bio-diversity inherent in the City of Durban, a metropolitan city located in one of the biodiverse regions (Maputo Pondoland region of endemism) of South Africa.
Talks this month:
May 22 2023 online: SCIENCETALK: by Viloshanie Reddy and team who
will discuss the identified plants and the process she engages with in the lab.
Contact viloshanie.reddy@durban.gov.za for details.
May 29 2023 in person and online: ARTTALK: by Coral Bijoux - a focus on one work – the Allegory of the Vanity of the Plastic Spoon [Fig: 01] and [Fig: 02] of the installation and will engage the notion of ‘vanity’ as it pertains to power and authority – one of the key elements in Dreams as R-evolution. This ‘allegory’ is fashioned here as a sculptural garment made from discarded plastic spoons retrieved from Durban’s beaches. It will be integrated with plants, such as the Ansellia Africana and Chlorophytum comosum, which will be discussed in more detail during the talk. Contact: coralbijoux.65@gmail.com or whatsapp on: 073 109 4425 for details.
Early booking essential for ‘in person’ attendance or online – to request the link.
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