What to expect from the fourth annual Spier Light Art

“We have used this opportunity during the global pandemic to look within, connect with loved ones and find joy in quiet moments of calm. But we have also sought ways to embrace the promises of the future. It would be rash not to reflect on what has happened to us all, but it must be tempered with forward-looking positivity. The artworks showcased at Spier Light Art 2022 do just that; they ask us to glance back while looking ahead, learning from the past as we stride into the future,” says curators Jay Pather and Vaughn Sadie.

Image supplied: Johanna Reich's Crawler

Pather and Sadie explain that while some of the works offer playful opportunities for fun others grapple with difficult themes such as social histories and our relationship with the planet.

The installations include:

Night Crumple by Hedwig Barry

Night Crumple, which continues from an initial series of crumpled paper sheets, invites the viewer to consider the structure’s simultaneous resilience and vulnerability.

Barry’s artwork explores the relationship between visibility and invisibility. Aspects of the work that are invisible by day will take on new life in the night's darkness, revealing hidden secrets.

The amount of light absorbed by the phosphorescent paint in the day will affect how the work manifests at night in an ongoing and changing response to its site. The weather and the position of the earth relative to the sun will also influence the appearance of the work.

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My Secret Digital Garden by Natalie Penang

Referencing the scene from the iconic Ophelia painting by Sir John Everett Millais, Penang’s video artwork injects fresh energy into the original artwork.

The artist plays with the relationship between nature, technology and magical beings, while interrogating what it means to exist in an online universe.

Thokoza Mama Days? by Sandile Radebe

Exploring the performance of ubuZulua bethu or ‘our Zuluness’ in a material culture is the core theme of this sculptural installation from Radebe.

Equally important as a theme is the role abaphansi (ancestors) play in connecting the material and the spiritual world, and how they facilitate our spiritual purpose.

Image supplied. Willow Room Collective - Singing Tree

Petrified by Blaukind and The Renderheads

David Hecker, Alina Smith and Elzeth Calitz form The Renderheads. Their interactive installation Petrified asks the participant to question the prevailing narrative that science and technology, with their shiny light arcs and glassy interfaces, hold a place at the top of human creation.

Instead, we should look at the holes in the ground from the lithium mining, the exploitation of the workers and the abuse of private data. As the participant walks through the reflective surfaces of Petrified, they will consider the ecological toll of our insatiable quest for technological development.

Spier Light Art will be accessible to the public and entry is free. Visitors will need to reserve a time slot online to ensure compliance with Covid-19 safety protocols and government restrictions.