Artist Walkabout with Strijdom van der Merwe

Join us for a walkabout led by acclaimed Land Artist, Strijdom van der Merwe. Ending the first of the artist interventions with our exhibition, AbstRacT – the hidden synchrony, van der Merwe conceptualized an installation entitled A Study on Curvature. On exhibition till Thursday, 5 October 2023.

The sculptural elements of A Study on Curvature are constructed from 3mm bended plywood. It is in conversation with, and inspired by, the photography of Swiss Psychiatrist Oscar Forel, consisting of sculptural fragments that form part of the larger whole of the exhibition.

The approach was to recreate the feeling that Forel summons with his macro photographs of tree bark – magnifying the minute details of the seemingly overlooked abstract art found within nature. A Study in Curvature is an attempt to elicit this sense of smallness by means of visual aid. In this instance the humble wood shaving is used as a vessel to emphasize this feeling of smallness. Every curvature or shaving is a fragment of the whole. Each curved form is a celebration of the freedom in movement of the line. These shapes become sculptural in their appearance and change identity from nature to pure abstraction.