Hotfoot it to ”Untamed” a just-opened collaborative exhibition in Kirstenbsoch Botanic Gardens that explores what ”wilderness” means, and what its loss entails to the human psyche.
There’s a wonderful confluency between collaborators – Dylan Lewis’ sculptures, Ian McCallum’s poetry, Enrico Daffonchio’s architecure and David Davison’s conceptual design. It’s an invitation to remember where we come from, ponder who we are, and consider how we are going to handle the environmental crisis ahead.
The theme of emergence in Lewis’ metamorphic figures urges us as humans to reconnect with our deep biological roots in order to understand our past, and be able to speak about our future.
Dylan Lewis is a South African sculptor with a world wide reputation for capturing animal forms in bronze. He’s collaborating with other masters in their fields: Ian McCallum, an author, poet, psychiatrist, analytical psychologist and specialist wilderness guide, to say nothing of rugby player; Enrico Daffonchio, an architect who specialises in sustainable design and building and David Davidson of Kirstenbosch, the designer of the Chelsea Flower show displays.
The pavilion showcases contemporary, sustainable South African architecture, using solar power and natural light. It also features a specially designed “living wall” of indigenous plants, selected by Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden’s horticultural team. Follow a marked garden trail and discover Lewis’ strategically placed monumental bronzes interspersed with McCallum’s prose and poetry.
On for a year, the exhibition exhorts us to view the relationship between human beings and nature in an entirely new light. It’s a must see.