Cape Town – The transition of the new Simon’s Town Harbour Bay Centre, once a fish oil refinery, is at the centre of a local artist’s solo exhibition titled "Refinery: We are expanded far into the past".
Artist Marelise van Wyk’s solo exhibition at the Studio Art Gallery explores the land on which the gallery is built, from the time of the fish oil refinery, to the derelict buildings which were left for many years, to the newly designed and sophisticated Harbour Bay Centre in Simon’s Town.
Van Wyk has been a resident in the area for more than 30 years.
“I was intrigued by the unlikely charm of the derelict buildings of the marine oil refinery that was demolished in 2005. My creative process has always been inspired by the cycle of life - extinctions developing into new creations, developing into extinctions again,” she said.
“This is especially relevant in Simon’s Town, with its rich history, the historical buildings and graveyard. The skeletal structures of the derelict refinery became, for me, the embodiment for this ongoing process.”
For Van Wyk, the creative process became metaphorical, she said.
“Many of my old and discarded artworks were given new life being reformed/refined into new artworks.
Refinery III
“I am inspired by textures formed by erosion, corrosion and disintegration as a result of the passing of time. The medium of printmaking lends itself to express this process on paper.
“When the Studio Gallery opened on the premises as where the refinery used to be, it seemed a fitting venue to exhibit this body of work.”
The gallery opened at Harbour Bay in June last year and hosts solo exhibitions every two to three weeks, with an exciting line-up ahead.
"Refinery: We are expanded far into the past" will run from January 31 to February 13. The opening event is at 6pm.
The Studio Art Gallery is at shop GF31, Harbour Bay Centre, corner of Main and Dido Valley roads, Simon’s Town.
For more information, visit www.studioartgallery.co.za