For those who missed the kick off of our voyage of discovery around South Africa webinar series,
Seeking with New Eyes is a visual journey that gives you a glimpse of diverse landscapes in South Africa.
You’ll get a taste of the country’s natural beauty, resilience, and initiatives that are sparking hope.
One of the speakers in the next webinar is Fée Halsted, founder of Ardmore Ceramics.
Acclaimed as “modern day collectibles’ by the auction house Christie’s, the work of Ardmore’s artists has won them mutiple awards and global acclaim.
Join us to hear about what makes the creative and artistic forces of her team ”unstoppable.”
The World Came Together As The People Stayed Apart is Ardmore’s fresh collection that interweaves aesthetics and urgency, beauty with gravity.
It enables us to hear & ”see” lockdown stories, as interpreted through the modelling of clay.
“The lockdown came upon us dramatically changing all our lives. I have been astounded yet again by the incredible creations of the Ardmore artists, emerging from humble working conditions in the village close to our studio. The artists were inevitably impacted and influenced by what was happening around us.
The luxury of time gave us the opportunity to return to story telling. We now question the way humans help create the conditions that lead us into the pandemic, and the artists have explored new ways to find balance in nature” – Fée Halsted.
Pangolins have the unfortunate distinction of being the most trafficked animals in Africa – in some cultures, their scales are believed to have medicinal properties. Evidence suggests that the coronavirus pandemic may have begun in the wildlife markets of the Chinese city of Wuhan, where pangolins and many other species were kept in appalling conditions.
Ardmore sculptor Tebogho Ndlovou works from his small room, some 10 kilometres from the Ardmore studio. He settled on two magnificent pangolin sculptures as his way of interpreting the theme of lockdown.
The first is curled into a ball while the second sits on its tail – a classic pangolin pose that speaks to uncertainty. Will it open out completely, or wind back in on itself? Just like each of us, this pandemic pangolin is unsure if the danger has passed, and wary of what lies ahead.
Ardmore artist Wiseman Ndlovu has breathed life into the pangolin’s expressions and subtly rendered the patterns on their scales with his fine brush and steady hand. He has chosen to pick out a geometric tortoiseshell design on the base of the curled-up pangolin. It’s a reminder that both species seek safety and reassurance by withdrawing in on themselves when danger threatens.
The Ardmore team’s ability to create magnificent forms during these trying times is a testament to the enduring power of the human spirit.
Top picture courtesy of rogerandpatelaharpe.com