What do Leonardo diCaprio, South African artist Porky Hefer and Design Miami/Basel have in common? A special commissioned SFA Advisory project showcasing endangered species that’s what.
“Titled Endangered, the pods were produced using environmentally sustainable materials that have been extensively hand-worked by artisans in Cape Town. Hefer worked closely with textile artist Ronel Jordaan and craft collectives Heart Works and Mielie to translate his creatures into giant, tactile sculptures whose surfaces have been crocheted, felted, stitched and embroidered with unique embellishments.
The works will be available for sale in a limited edition of three per animal through Southern Guild gallery, with 25% of the sales proceeds supporting LDF’s wildlife conservation programs.
“Visitors to Design Miami/Basel will be invited to sit in, on, and around these friendly sculptural creatures igniting a sense of empathy as the stories of the real animals’ hardships and the importance of their survival to our own lives is recounted through interaction, video, and text,” says Lisa Schiff, Founder and Principal of SFA Advisory.
“It’s the future of the next generation that I am concerned about and the state of the world they inherit. Looking after our animals and Earth is one thing but also the preservation of human skills, crafts and traditions,” says Porky Hefer. “I think it’s important to show what beauty humans are capable of with their hands rather than the destructive mass production that technology is driving the modern consumerist society towards.”
A novel education process through art with a tactile impact in more ways than one.
Definitely a Proudly South African moment. Again!
Image and some text courtesy of WeekendSpecial and Southern Guild