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Altered Yarns by artist Tamlin Blake. Medium Newspaper, yarn. Using a homemade spindle, Tamlin Blake spun dyed sheets of newspaper cut into thin strips to create a textured yarn. Her tapestries explore the many ways in which our lives are shaped by the stories of others. -
Shahada II (Part 2) by artist Igshaan Adams. Medium Beads, cotton, fabric and metal. The tapestry spells “testimony” in Arabic. This exquisitely intricate weaving echoes the complexity of Igshaan Adams’s multifaceted identity.
WORDS Steve Smith IMAGES courtesy of Spier
The official Art Route at the historic Stellenbosch wine farm and art benefactor Spier is open to the public to explore.
Art is as much a part of the Spier brand as its fine wines and delicious food, and about 3 200 artworks have been assembled by the Spier Arts Trust in a celebrated collection. At any given time, about 900 of these are on display at various indoor and outdoor locations around the estate, which have since been curated into a self-guided walking tour, with highlights that range from paintings and sculptures to mosaic and mixed media.
Mosaic Kraal: South Africa’s first permanent outdoor exhibition of mosaics features the work of 16 contemporary local artists, including Selvin November, Lindile Magunya and Pierre Fouché.
Collect your free, easy-to-navigate fold-out map from the hotel reception, the tasting room or one of the restaurants, and wend your way through the estate’s various buildings and outdoor spaces, exploring the wonderful array of contemporary South African art. With Spier a committed supporter of local art and artists, you can also find out how the Spier Artisan Apprenticeship Programme and Creative Block are providing career development opportunities for artists under the auspices of Spier’s Growing for Good initiative.
Songsmith (The Great Karoo) by artist Jenna Burchell. Medium Rock, metallic strips. Twelve ancient, fractured Karoo rocks, repaired in the Japanese kintsukuroi method, have been transformed into interactive sound sculptures.
For more information, visit spier.co.za.
