Yearning for light in dark

Published Oct 26, 2016

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WIM BOTHA. Sculptures and ink drawings/paintings. At Stevenson until November 19. DANNY SHORKEND reviews

ODD pieces, fragmented chunks, meaty ink, brittle and solid planes tantalise the eye and mind as one engages with Botha’s artistic interventions. Perhaps best known for his sculptural use of books amalgamated in interesting ways with various materials, Botha does not disappoint at this show. In the main room, a large sculptural installation takes centre stage. An archaic world, another world – perhaps one of ice – brittle and crystal like or of fiery flames – reds and indigos that spiral upward in contorted shapes with the sound of fury.

Then there are mirrors or treated glass that refract and distort creating a kaleidoscope of rainbow hues. The wood backings somewhat earth one and ground ones reverie in the here and now.

In addition, the various busts on wood and glass plinths create shadows on the floor and ceiling, intentional effects of the curious shapes. For one is never certain whether we are dealing with a classical Pieta-like effect or Ancient Greek proportions as it were, or if the forms appear to want to explode or that they are simply bits and pieces of that which has already reached their nadir.

In this sense, it is a kind of abject aesthetic. The predominate colours are white, black and a bloody red or perhaps indigo. It’s an aesthetic that leaves one uncertain as to whether one should feel tranquillity in this ordered chaos or whether it simply highlights the continuous flux and struggle with form quo idea.

For Botha refers to concepts such as solipsism and alternative realities. This would make sense. His busts appear to be self-sufficient, bodiless forms wherein solid planes or sometimes brittle exteriors appear to be self-contained. Thus a real philosophical problem, that of the “brain in a vat” bears mentioning. We cannot tell whether we are simply prodded here and there with what we call senses that articulate or give rise to the postulate of an external world, or whether in fact our brain is manipulated by some agents that so create such sensations. Of course it is a very lonely, solipsistic world to believe this and it undermines real satisfaction of connecting to others. It also undermines the concept of reality, for all is rendered illusion or delusion. The problem with this theory is it is not actually scientifically viable, since it cannot be conclusively disproved. Thus, perhaps one should feel the full effect of Botha’s ink drawings/paintings. Here there is more a sense of reality and of the body and flesh.

Here is a sense of motion and emotion and the gesture towards symbol. I say so as the seeming abstract lines are ideographic, a sign system and language. So that we “escape” mind by conversing with others which requires language – the body or tool the mind uses to connect and communicate.

One feels a kind of Nietzschian Ubermenschl, especially in the large sculptural installation, a kind of incantation of kryptonite – the source of strength and weakness. The place where power is bred and where power may dissipate. This is emphasised in the alternate solidity and fragility of the pieces. There is a sense that the pieces imply further growth and evolution.

As if, to recall Michelangelo’s Pieta, the form that struggles to free itself from the stone, so Botha creates a senses of tension, wherein the forms appear to will further iteration, as crystalline form both bespeaks an aged past and progresses to an as yet unknown future. Fossilised rock and yet modern materials. Classical references and yet an original language. But perhaps I am missing the point. This is what the artist said onfhis work and use of materials: “But in the same way the body functions from the inside out, there are other more ethereal aspects of materials and ideas that are hidden from plain view that need a reflective or deflective gaze to see. A body presents an array of sounds – food metabolised, blood flowing, breathing – that are subtle and difficult to discern. The interior space of a bronze cast has a metallic, dark universe of air and metal filings silently inside. Polystyrene is intrinsically porous, with infinite voids.”

He has managed to deal with the ineffable and the capacity to articulate (the) human yearning for light amidst a hostile environment.

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