April 1, 2017

It is exactly 2 years today.

It is exactly 2 years today. I cannot elaborate.
Pictures. I am primarily visual. and metaphoric.
Hopefully this link works...our last days at home in London

I have learned, that endings and beginnings and [even illusive ‘in-betweens’] need to be heard and in some way, cared for. In search of some [metaphoric] worn heavy boots and an old big coat, for this day, and some string to join and link and ground and wrap, I did indeed manage to find something for our day. Very nicely, it fell on a Saturday!

Just before we left our home in London, 2 years ago today,  when Gabriel’s granny from South Africa came to stay with us, for the last time, we had the great fortune of visiting the Tate Modern to see the Marlene Dumas exhibition: THE IMAGE AS BURDEN.  [perhaps my most memorable Tate Modern exhibition was of Louise Bourgeois, with her famous giant spider and all her fabric creations... little seeds that stayed with me and are starting to bloom as we speak!  just saying..]


Marlene Dumas is one of my favourite artists. She is South African and like most of us, rather nomadic. By choice, or not, I don’t know… it’s the eternal question. 

She lives in the Netherlands. Little did I know at the time about being a 
real stranieri/foreigner, as Marlene no doubt is  … Moving from SA to London is different, you move from a kind of 1st /3rd world mix, to  a very 1st world dynamic rich [in thought and culture] country. You don’t have to completely and utterlychange languages or cultures and it is almost more 'normal' to be foreign in London, than a born and bred Brit!
In SA we grew up with Britain in our blood, in a way… We grew up with a lot of things in our blood... as it is in South Africa [another big story, I have too much to say. Perhaps read Rian Malan]
And so my annual 15th of October 1998 Aniversary of arriving in London from SA, is/was not at all like our 2 year anniversary, today, of arriving in Italy. Just saying, again …. and the London to SA move is now retrospective ..

And of course,  there is so much to say about the art of Marlene Dumas, but I shall leave it at that for now.  I shall let our 2 year anniversary be. It is in a state of images and feeling at the moment, not words. I need my eyes and my hands.


LONDON:



friends....
I
Toy! And Gabriel's tent. In our home.  [Toy was the start of a new journey. Sadly we  don't have TOY anymore, and its a big gap, but we have something else, its a big topic, I shall talk about it another time... but there is a little at the end of this blog post!]

 My life, or some of it, in boxes... bye bye...



 last time, sitting in mommy's mosaic creations and having a home of art.. bye.......


Gabriel loved TOY.. 

The olden days... our favourite local coffee shop in London

The tent! in our red colourful family room full of windows!

Last time... in our family lounge, play room and studio.... bye bye...




In the morning of the 1st of April: And so, today, especially, I need to relate to something, to connect with something, to feel a little less foreign, or maybe to feel foreign just on the outside but not on the inside, for a change. [I need to think about that some more.. it’s interesting]
Ok, so  I need to mark the day, for me and Gabriel, with something to look at and something to resonate with. And to find some pearls for my heart and my soul, and live in curiosity, like we used to, and see what comes forth. 


I found it [a few days ago, all of a sudden]!!!! a French artist, who has been  ‘researching Sicily’ for 20 years.  Along with surviving, it seems she has made enough art and rooted and delved  into her soul and her culture enough and sailed the storms of this culture,  to create something, which I think will be wonderful.

Anne-Clémence de Grolée .  The last 2 days of her exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art Palermo are this weekend. We are just in time. This is the part I am most looking forward to because my hands are busy with my own ship at the moment….    More about her and some pictures of her boats and ships

Anne De Grolée    "Une ile à soi"                 until 2nd April 2017
Una terra sedimentata, contradittoria, complessa, ma certamente fertile per chi viene da fuori…
Dal caos è nato un mosaico di progetti legati a sensazioni, incontri, opportunità. Fuggevoli o di lungo respiro.
Al centro, la scoperta di una cultura insieme vicina ed estranea, la ricerca — talvolta disincantata — del Genius loci, la riflessione sull’essere donna.
Memore della mia doppia radice, tessere i fili tra le rive.

Tra l’isola e il continente, tra i sud.
Farsi ponte, ancora
A land unsettled, contradictory, complex, but certainly fertile for those coming from outside ...
From the chaos it has resulted in a patchwork of projects related to feelings, meetings, opportunities. Fleeting or long-term.
At the center, the discovery of a culture closer together and alien, research - sometimes disenchanted - the genius loci, reflection on being a woman.
Mindful of my double roots,

Between the island and the mainland, between the south.
Unmade bridges yet [??]





Very interesting: "In classical Roman religion, a genius loci (plural genii loci) was the protective spirit of a place. It was often depicted in religious iconography as a figure holding attributes such as a cornucopia, patera (libation bowl) or snake."

The 
 end of  the 1st of April 2017:
We went! We saw the boats!
It is late. I need to think and absorb and and do and make things with my hands.
But to put a stake in the ground, to honour my intention, I will at least  make a mark  [as I like to teach my kids inbetween teaching them bits of English!]


Here is Gabriel! [above]
The boats are so synchronistic and important to me, I can't even explain it.

The boats reminded me very much of the boats, 'air-craft carriers', walkie-talkies and guns that my brothers and me used to make in the 'woodwork department' of our nursery school in South Africa, all those years ago!
Gabriel liked the boats and wandered around a bit and was desperate to pick one up and hold it. Me too!


and my ship. just a glance. [the words here need to be more finely carved and the images more carefully taken and shown... but for now]

 It is almost made. I wanted it to be made by the end of March.  My ship has it's own story.. I have so much about boats to say... but for now...  how lovely to put a little bit of my ship here, at this time,  with the boats of Anne De Grolée.
My ship isn't finished, yet.


1 April, 2017, we see you.




January 18, 2017

soon I will write about something new. something about the 15th of January and America!

...but in the meantime, here is my drawing from yesterday using Gabriels watercolours.
It is about trying to be a mother who can protect, contain, be grounded, be authentic, be strong and still well... just about that and trying.
And it turned out to link into my theme I return to about labirynths... I found an amazing artist who makes giant giant 3d labiryths out of sticks and branches.
His name is Josep Pujiula.

January 13, 2017