Proof of life, talent and potential

Natasha Norman took upon herself the hugely daunting task of sifting through the studios of the Michaelis School of Fine Art undergraduate students to compile an exhibition not only showing talent and artistic skill, but integrity, insight and originality. The result seems to be a striking combination of quirkiness, seriousness and absurdity. With water made from wood, a landscape wall in several shades and tones, and a person hanging onto the edge of the door outside the gallery, the students and curator succeeds in creating a viewing experience in quite a little bit of space.

The smallish space in VANSA’s Spin Space was packed full of excited students, parents, avid gallery goers and VANSA supporters on the opening night – with at least 4 red SOLD spots within the first half hour. Each work delivers its own unique impact and message with the authenticity that some artists seem to sometimes lose after years of art production and artistic self management. Traditional media such as bronze, acrylic, Photography and etching is juxtaposed with more contemporary or unconventional methods, and used in new ways.

One work that immediately caught my eye was ‘Wood Water Work?’ by Daniella Mooney. Mooney used Jelutong, an ideal carving or sculpture wood, to make “water” poured into a bucket (found object) from a brass tap. The wordplay in the title might suggest that the artwork was done as a playful accident after finding the bucket, and may then seem somewhat flippant. However, further interpretation could associate the work with the availability of natural resources in terms of a lack of fresh running water in rural communities – the wooden water is dry and undrinkable but comes from a tap which is used in more affluent communities, the city and suburbs. Electricity supply to townships is also never guaranteed and one could easily connect the title to the concept ‘would water work in generating electricity through hydro power?’.

Left: Sarah Ferguson-Brown. Untitled (Worker), Velin Arched Johannot, Blue overall. 2009. Right: Daniella Mooney. Wood Water Work? Jelutong, Brass Tap and found bucket. 2008.

Another work that stands out is Sarah Ferguson-Brown’s work that comments subtly on labour, as the clothing worn by a soldier, car guard and worker is used as material for pressure prints and twine balls. And almost across from this in the exhibition space is ‘Vader’ by David Brits, who created a huge portraiture print by using a stamp – simple in execution, striking in its visual impact. As with any artwork, one could read much meaning and implied connotations to the visual matter used by an artist – and this bids true of every artwork chosen by Natasha for the exhibition. A wooden barstool is drilled to half its original weight by Tamarin Phillips, a wall is covered by prints of a landscape made on recycled paper by Michele Rolstone, a dead dove’s wing is attached to the end of a red string that shapes a constellation resembling a bird in Danelle Malan’s painting, and kitchen objects rarely deemed as inherently artistic are cast in bronze and resin by Caroline Vincent. The students participating in Proof of Life brought life to their artwork that acts as proof of their own vision and ideologies – drawing inspiration from concepts as personal as heritage and relationships to concepts as expansive and fundamental than time, gender, memory, and meaning.

Left: David Brits. Vader. Stamp on Fabriano. 2009. Right: Danelle Malan. Untitled (or trompe l’oeil with constellations). Acrylic and PVA on canvas. 2008.

The artists who participated in this undergraduate exhibition is, in no particular order: Tamryn Kirby, Caroline Vincent, Leigh Tuckniss, George Chapman, Frith Carlisle, Sarah Ferguson-Brown, Tony East, Sigourney Smuts, Tatum Paulsen, David Brits, Danelle Malan, Janodien January, Matthew Alexander King, Tamarin Phillips, Michele Rolstone, Kitty Dorje, Megan Twine, Samantha McCulloch, and Daniella Mooney. The future awaits these talented artists and Natasha Norman, with many opportunities still to come for them to inspire, create, express and immerse.

Proof of life is on exhibit until 16 October 2009 at VANSA’s Spin Space at 8 Spin Street, Cape Town.

Words & photography by Janet Botes