The Sample Workshop

EB i

CONTENTS iv

Foreword - Pieter J Mathews

v

The Exhibition Space & Art on a Building Site - Pieter J Mathews

01

Udderly guarded - Cowmash

03

WOW MOM WOW - Carla Crafford

05

No More Patriarchy - Eric Duplan

07

Zemblanity (spillage) - Guy du Toit

09

Excavator in hand - Lukhanyo Dyasi

11

Graffiti - Sunet Ferreira & Izanne Wiid

13

Builder’s shelter echoed - Heidi Fourie

15

Metaron’s cube in bronze, silver and gold - Gordon Froud

17

A hand in time, and in space - Dylan Graham

19

Platonic forms and cityscape - Carl Jeppe

21

Fossil of Pedagogosaurus Defunctus, crushed under its own weight - Allen Laing

23

THREE - Keneilwe Mokoena

25

Under construction - André Naude

27

In anticipation - Malose Pete

29

Building - Portraits of construction workers - Alet Pretorius

31

Homage to Mapungubwe - Annette Pretorius

33

Station panel rip-off (1-5) - Nazirite Tam

35

Ancient playground - Lynette ten Krooden

37

Você é da onde? (Where are you from?) - Helena Uambemde

39

Artefacts 2018 - Jan van der Merwe

41

Apiesdoring ghost - Diane Victor

43

Like shot - Sybrand Wiechers

ii

JH iii

FOREWORD PIETER J MATHEWS My architectural practice, Mathews + Associates Architects, designed the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria, an art gallery and museum that will house the University of Pretoria’s prestigious Mapungubwe collection as well as other major South African artworks. The complex is located on the north and southern sides of Lynnwood Road, with a new bridge gallery connecting the two sides of the complex as well as the two University campuses on both sides of the road. The building consists of nine whitebox galleries, art restoration facilities, a restaurant, coffee kiosk, administrative and storage spaces.

The Sample Workshop was conceived as an exhibition in the basement of this new gallery complex whilst the project was still under construction. A basement is an underground space, often associated with clandestine and unofficial activities. The concept of the basement also refers to foundation or a good fundamental understanding or principle. The construction environment allowed for interesting artistic explorations and outcomes whilst requiring all involved to still comply with statutory health and safety requirements of a building site.

To avoid the bureaucracy of bringing artists to make an artwork on a building site, this exhibition was not called an exhibition, but rather a “sample workshop” because an architect can ask for samples on any project. The artists participating in the exhibition were instructed to provide a “sample” on any surface or in any space in the new gallery’s basement. These “samples” became artworks and installations that provided artistic commentary on the space, the industry and the broader context of the University, to which many of the artists are or were affiliated as either alumni or lecturers.

Each artist interpreted the real and imaginary ideas of ‘basement’, ‘underground’ and ‘construction’ in their own way. In a sense, each artist derived something different from the building site to generate a concept for their sample.

The process was documented for film by Neil Human and Katlego Mance and myself, and photographed by Alet Pretorius, Pieter Mathews, Carla Crafford, Eunese Beukes, Jan Hugo, Liam Purnell and Jannes Hattingh.

AP

With special thanks to the building foremen: Adriaan Joubert and Fernando Sboro for their assistance. iv

EXHIBITION SPACE THE BUILDING SITE

The basement of the Javett UP Art Centre is constructed as a wet basement which is naturally ventilated. This has the benefit of unique light in specific places penetrating deeply into the space.

Large ventilation holes remain are open to the sky above. The brick walls in the basement are bagged and painted white to reflect light into the space. The basement is the least important area of the formal gallery space that is constructed above, intended only for parking and storage.

During the time that the exhibition was made, in December 2018, the building was still a fully operational site with all the hazards and risks of a normal building site present. The contractor’s site offices were still located in the basement. These were built with simple gypsum drywall panels in a haphazard and unplanned way, intended only for temporary use.

An important consideration that emerged during the exhibition was how the exhibition made art accessible to the construction workers (building an art gallery of which they might never see the interior). The Sample Workshop exposed the builders on site to an assortment of important South African artists and their art.

A plan was drawn up and artists were allocated the specific spaces they had requested. The layout and placement of artists changed several times before and during the exhibition and were constantly revised as the intentions of the artists became more manifest. The artists were given a tour of the basement before the exhibition to enable them to discover the possibilities inherent in the basement and to discuss possibilities

v

EB vi

LP vii

viii

ART ON A BUILDING SITE After Kendell Geers Photograph by Pieter J Mathews

Art is available everywhere on a building site when viewed from a certain perspective: I discovered this composition of tyres and danger signage on site by accident. The danger signs protecting the tyres reminded me of Kendell Geers – the conceptual artist that uses a variety of colours and materials that signal danger.

PM ix

After Fischli & Weiss Photograph by Pieter J Mathews

The incidental composition of fire pipes scattered around the building site reminded me of an installation by Fischilli and Weiss. Objects that crashed and exploded across a studio space were photographed and exhibited as art.

PM x

MORE ART ON SITE

LP

LP xi

LP

LP

LP

LP

LP

LP xii

COWMASH Udderly guarded Ink on Paper

The act of covering walls with wallpaper is used in this artwork to represent the covering of walls in a new home.

Culturally, many women are groomed to accept “female” responsibilities upon leaving her family to start her own. “udderly guarded” is a self-portrait that displays the contemporary young woman who guards her own space in her own way and not necessarily in ways that culture expects her to.

AP 01

CC

AP

EB 02

CARLA CRAFFORD WOW MOM WOW HoTempera using oxides and pigments found at artist’s house

The title is made up of words that mirror each other vertically, but also make up a palindrome. The words refer to a reaction of a new student at the University of Pretoria, when viewing the artworks and architecture produced by lecturers and students on campus.

At the same time a pattern is shaped that reminds me of some aspects of traditional Ndebele artworks found in our area.

PM 03

CC 04

ERIC DUPLAN No More Patriarchy HoSpraypaint and Stencil

No More Patriarchy!!

AP 05

AP

AP

AP

CC

CC 06

GUY DU TOIT Zemblanity (Spillage) Bronze

When casting bronze sculpture there is often spillage. Droplets of liquid bronze are spilled and are normally re-melted in the next pour. I have collected these and fixed them to the wall as a kind of memorial splash to the process. They are a by-product, serendipitous in creation, my input by way of selecting and arranging them is the opposite, Wiktionary suggests the word zemblanity to describe this.

07

AP

AP

PM

AP

CC 08

LUKHANYO DYASI Excavator in hand Charcoal on drywall

The hand is representative of the excavator disrupting the natural ground from this specific site. As a construction crane guide working on the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria I have contributed personally to the excavation of the site. I had a hand in its creation.

PM 09

PM 10

AP

CC

AP

AP 11

Izanne wiid sunet ferreira Graffiti Spraypaint

Sunet Ferreira and Izanne Wiid collaborated on this project and combined their respective ‘Saadjies’ concepts (a duwweljie and a collection of fingers) with the guerrilla nature of Cool Capital to engage and intervene with the underground basement space. Wiid’s ‘fingers’ and Ferreira’s ‘duwweltjies’ were combined to form a 2D image playing with the ‘The Creation of Adam’, a fresco of Michelangelo, which forms part of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling. Two fingers ‘touching’ each other with an ‘explosion/spark’ between them, represented by a ‘duwweltjie’. The main consideration was to explore a new medium, graffiti, to have fun and to continue the (underground) journeys of the artist’s ‘Saadjies’ in a collaborative but separate manner.

AP 12

HEIDI FOURIE Builder’s shelter echoed Scaffolding, fabric , plastic sheets, rope, dye powder & water

The tiling subcontractor on site built a dust shelter within scaffolding for grinding granite sheets into tiles. I found the accumulation of dust and the sun light filtering through the green dust netting enthralling. I set out to echo the shelter on a mirrored block of scaffolding, stretching white elastic fabric and plastic sheeting over the scaffolds which filtered the light in its own way.

Suggesting a stretched canvas, I cast various coloured dye dust onto the sheets. The powder looks almost invisible when dry but turns bright and dark when wet. I wanted the shelter to look neutral with only splashes of dust reminiscent of the granite dust in the adjacent grinding shelter. It was predicted to Rain that day, and the shelter would then burst with hues in an unpredictable composition.

We spurred the rain on by spraying the structure with water, revealing the colour of the powder in captivating unforeseen streaks and stains.

13

AP

AP

EB

AP

EB

EB

PM 14

GORDON FROUD Metaron’s cube in bronze, silver & gold Metallic Paint and Roof Paint

Metatron’s cube is an ancient piece of sacred geometry said to house more than 700 geometric principles and drawings.

Although painted on a flat 2d surface, it could be extrapolated into a fully 3d diagram or form. I elected to work with three precious metallic colours to symbolise 3 levels of existence. Bronze in the centre, surrounded by silver and gold circles. Lines link these, intersecting with each other to form geometric diagrams (most particularly the 5 Platonic solids).

One of these is emphasised with thicker gold lines to make it more visible. The particular form is an icosahedron made up of 20 triangles. This is the same shape of the HI Virus. The work talks about the interconnectedness of all things and how it is our perspectives that change the way we see or interpret the world around us.

PM 15

PM

PM

PM 16

AP

AP

AP

AP

AP

EB 17

DYLAN GRAHAM A Hand in Time, and in Space Acrylic on Drywall

The work is a grouping of handprints created by the dabbing of hands in various colours of paint and then pressing the hands against a surface.

The work pays reference to Palaeolithic art, like that found in the Chauvet Cave in France, which is estimated to be more than 30 000 years old. It also refers to our initial impulse of self-expression.

AP 18

CC

AP

AP

AP

EB

EB

CARL CUZ JEPPE Platonic Willow Charcoal and (plenty of) fixative on Drywall I have always been fascinated by architecture, the way it allows people to function by shaping the spaces around them so that they can perform their everyday tasks in a practical and beautiful environment. Architecture can be grand, inspirational and imposing, such as in the earliest works like Stonehenge, the Pyramids, Inca temples and the great Gothic cathedrals, the great modern architects also deliver breath-taking structures! Using modern materials and technology people have been able to build higher, span further and dig deeper than ever before! In Pretoria we are fortunate to be able to enjoy a few iconic buildings too, along with the Jacarandas!

For the past few years I’ve been drawing large imaginary landscapes, scattered with fantasy structures and dramatic geological features. They are dry and barren, and uninhabited, except by the remnants of past civilizations. My landscapes are very detailed and when I was approached to do this project I was faced with a daunting task: How am I going to do something bigger than I’ve ever done, and all in one day? When I saw the space, it was a huge challenge, but one I relished!

Instead of my usual “Mythical” landscape, I decided to draw, from memory, some of the iconic buildings that we see around Pretoria, realizing that the Javett Art Centre will soon be regarded as iconic as well! This building will display the very latest trends in the Arts as well as housing some extremely important and beautiful historical collections. I needed to make reference to art history, as well as to the rowdy political situation in South Africa, so I couldn’t resist having a few holes blasted in the ground out of which burst some important shapes.

The cubists, beginning with Cezanne, recognized that all three-dimensional forms that we see around us can be made up of spheres, cones, cylinders and cubes. These shapes are all around us if only we would take time to look for them. I decided later to include the Platonic solids as well.

There are only five of those and they are the only three-dimensional shapes that can be constructed using regular-sided polygons. Since ancient times these shapes have been considered to possess mythical properties and they each represent an important element. A tetrahedron (fire) is constructed using four equilateral triangles. A cube (earth) has six square faces. Eight triangular faces form an octahedron (air), twelve pentagonal faces will l form aa dodecahedron (Universe) and an icosahedron (water) has 20 triangular faces.

AP

Also, intriguing is the notion that the work itself will not be permanent but will remain on record as an event that took place in the blink of an eye, given the grand scheme of things, and which was somewhat subversive and clandestine.

20

AP 21

ALLEN LAING Fossil of Pedagogosaurus Defunctus crushed by its own weight Timber found on site, Olive Wood, screw and nails PM

The fossil was discovered in 2018 by the acclaimed and highly esteemed Mr Allen Laing (MTech, BA, matric, etc.) at a depth of 10 meters below ground in Brooklyn, Pretoria. Although rivals and detractors of Laing’s career have claimed that the fossil is falsified, Laing’s outstanding academic credentials seem to solidly counteract these claims.

The fact that Laing will be publishing numerous books and papers on his work, will be presenting his findings at conferences across the world and that he is receiving millions of taxexempt Rands from the universities to further research on this groundbreaking discovery, suggests that the authenticity of his discovery is almost unquestionable. Laing will be available for photo opportunities in March 2019 but has declined to attend press conferences until further notice.

PM 22

KENEILWE mokena THREE PVC tape on drywall

Geometry - The language of space and form. Throughout history, geometry has been a phenomenon contemplated by diverse disciplines such as mathematics, architecture, arts, religion, philosophy, culture and technology, as a method of understanding spatial concepts.

It is a naturally occurring phenomena throughout nature and has fascinated artists and mathematicians for centuries.

This body of work explores the use of space and form in order to make sense of how we often think of ourselves as the centre of a constant spatial reference. Space has a way of simultaneously bringing us closer, while separating us. Form is a constellation of points, connected by lines.

Points represent the fundamental elements of matter, i.e. atoms. Lines represent the collective movement of points in spacetime. From these two simple elements, an infinite amount of forms can be created. All of existence is connected through complex patterns of order and chaos. We, as single points in space-time, are connected to everything one and everything else that exists and will ever exist.

23

CC

CC 24

CC 25

ANDRE NAUDE Under Construction Acryilc Paint

My process of applying paint to the bagged wall surface was in direct contrast to the manner in which the wall, as rigid architectural element, was constructed. I was mostly guided by flamboyant spontaneity.

PM 26

CC 27

MALOSE PETE In Anticipation

Charcoal on Drywall

AP

Rain is in most cases, considered to be a bearer of prosperity and potential growth, I used the looming rain clouds to make slight reference to this. The figure is an attractive young woman who is contemplating almost nonchalantly this possible prosperity. It is to suggest that sometimes the anticipation is for another kind of growth/prosperity and not necessarily the one we get to encounter.

AP 28

Alet Pretorius Building | Portraits of Construction Workers Photographs on Drywall

I have been documenting the building of the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria for more than a year. I wanted to show the people working on the project. I also wanted the workers to interact with the portraits. Art can be very exclusive at times. It hangs in galleries where only a select audience sees and interacts with it. By installing the portraits on the site where they were photographed the subject also becomes the viewer.

EB 29

AP

AP

EB 30

EB

EB 31

AP

AP

ANnette pretorius Homage to Mapungubwe Acrylic on stones

The patterns and colours on the raw stone pay homage to traditional patterns and earth colours depicting birds, fish and animals. The blue background refer to blue shweshwe cloth.

AP 32

NAZIRITE TAM Station Panel Ripoff (1-5) Plastic mould from woodcuts

It’s a set of fake plastic Pierneefs made by a Chinese artist

PM 33

PM

PM

PM

PM 34

EB 35

Lynette ten krooden Ancient playground Charcoal, gum arabic resin, sand from site and gold leaf

Ancient playground refers to historical places where ancient tribes had settled and inevitably left behind traces in caves, sand and stone.

I have been tracing these sites and symbols from the time that I was introduced to Archaeology as a student studying Fine Arts at the University of Pretoria.

JJH

The wall depicts several symbols and objects that were found at Mapungubwe through the years. As a student we were involved in the excavations at the site and that experience has left a deep and lasting imprint on me as an artist. Over the years I have painted several paintings about Mapungubwe, and I used the objects from the two huge paintings that first hung at the entrance to the first Mapungubwe museum in the Old Arts Building. As I specialise in the use of gold leaf in my work, it was natural that I would depict the objects (rhino, bowl, bovine figure, sceptre, beads) in gold.

36

HELENA UAMBEMDE Você é da onde?

(Where are you from?)

Found material, installation & spoken word performance

With spoken word I question the idea of the ‘foreigner’ and migration. I look at personal experiences where I have been asked where I am from which I find quite violent and intrusive. This performance has helped me confront my own discomfort and fears of being a born of Angolan parents in South Africa. I make use of found mesh material to create a vail of protection around me, due to the fear of being discriminated against.

AP 37

EB

AP

EB 38

PM

AP 39

AP

AP

JAN VAN DER MERWE Artefacts 2018 Found Materials

The installation consists of small remnants and evidence of discarded building materials that lie scattered on the terrain where the Javett Art Centre is being built on the campus of the University of Pretoria. The centre will link the North with the South campus.

PM 40

Diane Victor Apiesdoring ghost Charcoal on corrugated carboard

The work was born my memory of parking beneath a very old and sculptural Apiesdoring tree. This dystopian work intended for this underground space represents the roots of this Apiesdoring as a literal translation. The tree under which I parked is no longer there reflecting the transient nature of life; this concept is captured in the work by the skeleton, vultures, sculls and owl imagery which can all be considered symbols of death.

The work was not completed in time for installation in the basement (the intended site-specific space) but now hangs in the Merensky Library on the main campus of the University of Pretoria.

PM 41

CS

CS 42

AP

AP

AP

AP

43

AP

AP

sybrand wiechers Like Shot Steel, paint and wall

In a world where the success of a creative endeavour is increasingly measured in ‘likes’ and ‘shares’, I wanted to produce a piece that reflects on the absurdity of chasing viral status. I felt that in an academic exhibition space it’s important to have a reminder that you can’t just throw likes at something and hope that one of them sticks.

AP 44

ISBN tbc FIRST EDITION FIRST IMPRESSION 2019 ISBN tbc Electronic edition 2019 VISUAL BOOKS: PO BOX 2676 BROOKLYN SQUARE 0075, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA E-MAIL: visualbooks@maaa.co.za © COPYRIGHT ON PHOTOGRAPHS: Mathews and Associates Architects cc © COPYRIGHT ON TEXT: Visual books excluding artist’s statements © COPYRIGHT ON DESIGN AND PUBLISHED FORM: Visual Books All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holders and the publisher.

EDITOR: Pieter J. Mathews GRAPHIC DESIGN OF PUBLICATION: Eunese Beukes, Carla Spies COVER DESIGN: Carla Spies PROOFREADING ASSISTANTS: Eunese Beukes, Jana Kruger PHOTOGRAPHERS: AP | Alet Pretorius PM | Pieter Mathews CC | Carla Crafford EB | Eunese Beukes JH | Jan Hugo LP | Liam Purnell JJH | Jannes Hattingh Disclaimer: All reasonable care has been taken in the preparation of this book. Neither the publisher nor the compliers can accept any liability for any consequence arising from the use thereof or the information contained herein. By submitting work, material, drawings and photographs, the participants confirmed that authorship had been established and permission obtained to publish all of the material used in this publication. Care has been taken to credit all parties correctly, should there be any omissions or discrepancies, the publisher will gladly put them right in future editions. We strive for perfection in every detail but we cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or for any subsequent loss or damage arising.