Revival Field 2009 | Association of Arts Pretoria

A combined exhibition of landscapes and clay pots by Corné van Eck and Nic Sithole

Since the beginning of time, man has had, above all other creatures in the world a unique relationship with the earth. He has dug it up, formed items with it, decorated it and used it as a source of inspiration. This exhibition is about landscapes (Corné van Eck) and clay pots (Nic Sithole) that are combined to express the artists’ deep appreciation for the earth and its splendours or fear that these beauties may become degraded. It is a reminder to regenerate, revive, reshape, remould, renew, respect and recycle.

It is about our relation to the cosmos, the celebration of light as a positive sense of being, our connection to the earth as a place of worship, the meditation on life, death and loss, the brevity of our existence on earth, the healing power and refuge we should find in it and the strive to give three- and two-dimensional shape to these thoughts. Both artists have a personal, intimate, intuitive and revived relationship with the earth … Art and art making have the power to heal - as we experience the arts, we learn that the experience of loss can be transformed through art.

Both artists deal with the symbolism of a circle. The circle represents unity, time, universal cycles, life, eternity, sun and earth. It also symbolizes wholeness.

In some of the landscapes there are elements of decay, which represents the transience of our existence on earth. The remains of skulls (objects of death) serve as a reminder of the emptiness of life and the futility of human achievement. The use of decaying remnants, such as rusted metal and wire serve as a metaphor for the preservation of the land and memories.

In this exhibition the viewer is invited to rediscover his long forgotten relationship with the earth and the joy it brings.