It’s no secret that there are many fabulous reasons to visit Spier, but right now we are especially thrilled about the three new extra-large installation art works gracing the farm’s beautiful gardens. It’s all thanks to Spier Architectural Arts, an initiative that provides ongoing support for and investment in African art and artists, launched back in 1996.

At least two of these three new art installations are as bright as they are bold, making it nearly impossible to simply stare and not touch – no worries though; visitors are invited to have fun and interact with the works as well.

Made of 1.8m-high Dayglo orange road cones and fastened with cable ties, Gordon Froud’s star-shaped cone-coction perches on the banks of the farm’s dam, near the wine tasting room. Equating his work to a giant virus, entitled Cone Virus, Gordon describes it as “a comment on industrialisation and our intervention with nature”.

Another colourful installation is by Richard Forbes, a red-painted steel construction that seemed to have rolled from nowhere to a rock-steady standstill on the lawns of the farm’s wine collection point. Titled Vortex, it signifies a portal to another dimension and looks like giant red domino pieces stuck together to create a large open centre. Certainly much less scary to try out than falling down a rabbit hole à la Alice!

Willem Boshoff’s work Prehistoric Dice (As A Homage to Change) is made of Belfast Black and Transkei Black granite and can be found at the farm’s conference centre. Consisting of three irregularly-shaped, polished granite dice placed on a black base, the pieces are immovable, so no picking up and rolling around any dice here, but it makes a perfect spot for contemplation, on how natural and historical conditions come into play to affect these distorted dices with meaning.  

After enjoying all this art in the garden, stroll on over to the farm’s shop where a special range of wines, handcrafted by winemaker Jacques Erasmus in collaboration with artist Berco Wilsenach, a participant in the Spier Arts Patronage Programme, is up for sale. Named after Berco’s four-year-long art project The Blind Astronomer, this special edition Cellar, Chenin Blanc and Pinotage are available separately or in a beautiful gift box.   

Berco’s The Blind Astronomer demonstrates the inaccessibility of the spoken word and the importance of sight while appreciating the aesthetic. The Blind Astronomer exhibition took place in association with VISI in Johannesburg last year (read more here).

spier.co.za, spierarchitecturalarts.com

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This exhibition is four years in the making, how has the initial idea changed and grown to become this final product?

 The concept for the work arose from an obvious and almost superficial connection between Braille and star charts: each uses a coding system of dots to convey information. From this seeming visual resemblance, I came up with the idea of a blind astronomer.

 Themes about the priority we give to sight and how language is a medium for conveying information arose, and I started exploring overthrowing and questioning existing conventions.

 The use of star charts in the project also forced me to study the existing conventions of cartography. These conventions are themselves a frame of reference that we as humans have created to understand nature, but not nature itself. 

How will gallery goers experience this immersive exhibition?

The exhibition consists of three components that are spatially separated, but conceptually interrelated to each other.

The first space is filled by a large-scale installation that the viewer can move through. The successive glass panels create the spatial effect of infinity; the stars in the sky appear to float in the darkness.

The second space is an accurate star atlas for the blind as well as a “star table”. It involves two interactive tables with glass panels depicting different parts of the night sky, which can be manipulated by the viewer.

In the last space, the focus shifts to be about the conventional representation of the universe. The works are in stone and glass.

What do you hope that viewers walk away with after seeing the exhibition?

The project relies to a large extent on the synaesthetic exchange of senses. You must feel to see to understand. Hopefully this will inspire people to start looking (and touching) again… Even if it is only for a short while.

What will your next project be?

I am currently working on a large-scale permanent installation for the University of Pretoria to be completed as soon as possible. I also have an exhibition in September at Circa Gallery in Johannesburg.

The Blind Astronomer shows at the Museum of Art and Design, 281 Commissioner Street, Johannesburg, from 7 to 27 March. There are artist walkabouts at 3pm on
9, 10, 16 and 23 March. Website: www.bercowilsenach.com

To be one of the 10 readers that attend the VIP opening on 6 March, including the indulgent blindfolded wine tasting, share this post on one of your social networks – Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ or Linkedin – by midnight on Monday 4 March and tell us that you have in the comments below. 

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