Blow Your Sculpture
Blow Your Sculpture 2021 Blow Your Sculpture in collaboration with Smelt Glass Studio, Obsidian Glass and the Pretoria Art Museum brings you the biggest glass art sculpture event on the African content! Sixteen artists and designers have been hard at work, making moulds and having 1000℃ hot glass blown into, on top and squeezed into sculptural narratives. You are invited to explore these creative journeys within the pages of this catalogue. Blow Your Sculpture started in 2014 as a collaborative project during the Cool Capital biennale to promote the South African hand-made glass industry and Pretoria as the glass capital of South Africa. This year, our fourth iteration, is the biggest ever and we are excited to again show these spectacular glass sculptures at the Pretoria Art Museum. The exhibition will open on the 15th of May 2021 at 11:00 with an artists walkabout from 12:00 onwards. The exhibition concludes on the 27th of June 2021. Blow Your Sculpture 2021 was funded by the participating artists and through the generous time and support offered by Smelt Glass Studio, Obsidian Glass and the Pretoria Art Museum. Blow Your Sculpture is the brainchild of Lothar Böttcher, and made possible through collaboration and support from Martli Jansen van Rensburg and Mike Hyam of Smelt Glass Studio, as well as the time, effort and commitment of all participants.
Participating Artists:
Suzanne Borman
Contact and social media: Email:
blowyoursculpture@gmail.com
Guy du Toit
Instagram:
@blowyoursculpture
Peter du Toit
Facebook:
Blow Your Sculpture
Lothar Böttcher
Charl Enslin Gordon Froud Caitlin Greenberg Suzaan Heyns Mike Hyam Martli Jansen van Rensburg
Photographs: All images of sculptures by Coert Wiechers All alternate images by Lothar Böttcher
Bridget Modema Stephen Mofokeng Malebogo Molokoane Francios Visser Sybrand Wiechers Izanne Wiid
This catalogue is compiled and edited by Lothar Böttcher
Coordinator/Curator - Obsidian Glass: Lothar Böttcher - lothar@lotharbottcher.com / 083 276 7594 Studio Coordinator/Glass Blower - Smelt Glass Studio: Martli Jansen van Rensburg - martli@moltenglass.co.za / 082 457 1674 Studio Coordinator/Glass Blower Extraordinaire - Smelt Glass Studio: Mike Hyam - mikehyam@mweb.co.za / 082 652 4490
©2021
Suzanne Borman 082 822 5966 suto@lantic.net
The Hug Twenty years ago, I created a clay sculpture inspired by Romanian French artist Constantin Brancusi. The sculpture had feet of clay and was created in a period of disconnect with my authentic self. The glass sculpture I created twenty years later is a milestone in my personal journey. The heat used in the creation of the sculpture is symbolic of transformation and the emergence of a new, stronger self. It has feet of glass and is transparent and strong. During this journey, the Covid-19 pandemic hit us with a deprivation of human touch and loneliness. This glass sculpture is called “The Hug”. In this time of isolation, we all deserve love, kindness, respect and reciprocal hugs. “The Hug” is a symbol of love, growth and transparency.
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The Hug I
The Hug II Clear glass, teak plinth H55 W24 D16cm 5
Lothar Böttcher 083 276 7594 lothar@lotharbottcher.com
Melancholy #1, #2, #3, #4 Lockdown and this proverbial “new world order” is emotionally taxing. Everything seems gloomy and our spirits are low… As we approached the first Covid Summer anxiety and uncertainty gripped my core. Nothing was normal. It was at these moments, looking at the distant cumulonimbus clouds shedding their wet load over the land that my mind gained space. I was able to breath… MELANCHOLY is a series of sculptures depicting that landscape, ...of a distant cloud shedding its woes.
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Melancholy #1
Melancholy #2
Melancholy #4
Melancholy #3
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Guy du Toit 083 369 6735 guy.sculpture@gmail.com
Head Timer (Vanitas) This hour glass takes just over two hours to empty..It is not about the amount of time but the fact that time is passing. A reminder that we are alive but mortal. The heads were blown from a mould that was made from an altered mapiko mask (Makonde tribe) that looked a bit like me. Head Timer is filled with glass beads that sometimes ‘tick’ or pulse as they flow from one head to the other. This phenomenon happens when the beads form a small dome above the narrowing, causing a small pressure difference which stops the flow briefly until it is equalized, again allowing the beads to flow.
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Head Timer (Vanitas)
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Peter du Toit 060 478 6397 dutoit.peter@gmail.com
LOG ON - LOG OFF My work explores the relationship between the tyranny of aging and multimedia experiences...
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LOG ON - LOG OFF
LOG ON - LOG OFF
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Charl Enslin 082 829 6293 censlin31@gmail.com
IDENTITY &
Rough Sketch Commenting on and getting used to the “new normal” of being a masked society. I worked with the idea of not only a mask that safeguards what we breathe but more importantly what we see and hear from the world around us - A helmet or face mask filtering the images and noises out. The effects media and especially social media has on one’s identity - how people adapt their behaviour and lifestyles (how they measure up) according to what the media shows/presents to be the norm. Having one’s identity anchored in something greater than just the trend of the day.
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IDENTITY
Rough Sketch
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Gordon Froud 084 423 8635 gordon@gordartgallery.com
Nesting Vessel I, II, III I use found objects (often with geometric forms) to construct my artworks. For these works I experimented with thin and thicker found metal, copper, chromed or steel objects and had glass blown into them. The outcome could not be predetermined and I was pleasantly surprised by the play between the metal and glass. The imprint of the metal framework leaves traces on the glass surface as the glass is blown into form.
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Nesting Vessel I
Nesting Vessel II
Nesting Vessel III
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Caitlin Greenberg 084 726 2970 c.greenberg1@gmail.com
Archival Thoughts The glass blowing process develops the concept, a trapped breath forms a glass mould, a breath within a breath trapped under strain. During the national Covid-19 induced lock-down, individuals were forced to process their personal archival thoughts. Thoughts, became thoughts within thoughts, a battle in our minds, a conversation with oneself. Our naturally suppressed Id rose to the forefront demanding recognition, our fast-paced lives were now confronted with these seeping archival thoughts. The translucent glass reveals thoughts, thoughts floating within thoughts, interrupted thoughts, disjointed thoughts and shattered, sharp, vulnerable thoughts waiting to wound and expose. The amplified, silent, loud, whispering reverberating voice must be confronted . . . and shredding begins. We begin sifting through our scattered archival thoughts, attempting to find a source of communication. Is it lost? The unbearable tension exposes. The gaping wounds expose the morally unacceptable; that which is trapped within the Id.
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Archival Thoughts
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Suzaan Heyns 082 415 1480 suzaanheyns@gmail.com
Expire.
Expel To force out. Inspired by the properties and process of glass blowing the mould was made to appear organic however controlled by an unifying point. Thus allowing for experimentation and considered sculptural elements living together. Exhale To breathe ones last breath. The juxtaposition of unified geometry and organic formations symbolizes that we all have the same grounding point, but our exhalation is disparate. Expire To come to the end of a period of validity.
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Expire
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Mike Hyam 082 652 4490 mikehyam@mweb.co.za
Cut Down At times in life, one feels as if one’s lifeblood has been taken away, surviving is a struggle. Life’s purpose evades one, it feels as if you have been cut down, weather-beaten and worn down. One’s time is passing by; in fact one feels like time is running out. The Covid pandemic has affected many of us in this way. The installation was made using pieces of cut down trees, placed in a bucket and the glass blown into the spaces between. These gnarled bits of wood created beautiful imprints on the glass from the forms developed over many years of growth and struggle with the challenges of its life. Textures created as testimony to a life of determination and purpose. Despite being scoured and seasoned by the challenges of life – still able to give meaning. Has its time run out or entered a new purpose?
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Cut Down
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Martli Jansen van Rensburg 082 457 1674 martli@moltenglass.co.za
Thy Kingdom Come “Thy Kingdom Come” shows a progression of form from one side to the other. The clear and red glass personifies one’s life and the green glass blocks symbolize a moment in time. An experience an event or even trauma that can change your life and change the way you experience life. For me this piece talks of her intimate experience of meeting God.
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Thy Kingdom Come
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Bridget Modema 065 954 1407 bridget@modema.co.za
Emotion Molecule: Serenity &
Thought Form I, II 'Molecule of Serenity ' explores the relationship between space and memory in a hanging installation. Drawing from a traumatic experience the piece celebrates a feeling of triumph when help arrived on the scene. Trauma can be a daunting experience in the constant 're-living', but one must also remember the bravery and triumph over your prosecutor.
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Though Form I
Though Form II
Emotion Molecule: Serenity
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Stephen Mofokeng 062 866 4726 vusimofokeng4@gmail.com
O Kae Molemo? / Where is the power? The sculpture comments on the negative supply of electricity by Eskom and the continues load shedding that takes place in South Africa. This symbolizes the fragility of humans and how their circumstances , like load shedding influence how they feel and how they live.
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O Kae Molemo? / Where is the Power?
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Malebogo Molokoane 082 300 2936 mnaticia@gmail.com
The Concealed Faces The faces portrayed, present the viewers with an exploration of a mental choice of different interpretations. These interpretations cannot be seen but they are expressed through their emotional aspects. This blown vessel glass is filled with layers of sand grains, to become one unified cell like the skin and each layer is emotionally wounded. The emotions captured portray an emotional healing whereby one cannot control their emotions, yet chooses to open up and still carry all these memories. The sand depicts the action of hiding something, to prevent it from being known. Style of artwork is abstract expressionism and has a vitality of its own.
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The Concealed Faces
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Francois Visser 082 337 9674 francoisvisser@telkomsa.net
Translucent &
Los I and Los II This was my first introduction to this 'mesmerizing ' medium known as glass blowing. For me it was a total exploration and experimental journey into the unknown. I focused on a previous subject matter for a bronze sculpture which covered the nest of the yellow finch. The fragility of the woven grass resonates well with that of glass. In the same way that the grass combines to construct a sturdy shelter, so does molten glass cool down to create a rigid translucent vessel. In the works, glass was blown into a constraining woven bronze mesh and a ceramic mould to resemble the shape of the nest. This constrainment of glass makes it appear more fragile and vulnerable.
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Los I
Los II
Translucent
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Sybrand Wiechers 082 064 2017 sybrandwiechers@yahoo.com
Onion For the BYS 2021 I wanted to produce a sculpture that unambiguously embraces the most characteristic attribute of glass as n medium, its transparency. To emphasize this aspect of glass I decided to juxtapose it with an object that’s very nature is build around the fact that what is inside is hidden. Originally from China but more recognised in its Russian incarnation the nesting doll provided the perfect object for my needs, the element of surprise by what is hidden inside every doll is the reason for their existence. As with most of my work I kept the final concept as simple as possible, a small naked “real” female figure is encased in a big dome elaborately decorated in very culturally recognizable symbols. We are all multilayered like an onion.
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Onion
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Izanne Wiid 071 618 3171 izannewiid@icloud.com
Choke &
Indent &
Perch All three sculptures are experimental works, playing with the constructs of opposites; structure vs decomp, solid vs liquid, support vs collapse, inside vs outside.
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Indent Blown glass, bike chain H29 x W38 D26cm
Choke
Perch
Video Links: •
Blow Your Sculpture Exhibition - Pretoria Art Museum (https://youtu.be/9LK1Ud0lt2I)
•
Blow Your Sculpture - processes and making of glass sculptures at Smelt Glass Studio, Pretoria, South Africa (https://youtu.be/nZaDJeTE7QY)
•
Obsidian Glass - Behind the scenes cold work (https://www.instagram.com/p/COQnUpcHByk/)
