SPOOR

 Klipkring, work in progress, mixed media on wood.

I came accross this blog post by Sue Lawty sometime during the weekend, and it resonated with where I'm headed with my art at the moment: Concealed, Discovered, Revealed. 

Her following phrases contain some the essence of what my new body of work will embody:

"Whether a line of quartz splitting a rock face or a huge folded mountain range, the structure of rock talks of the structure of our planet. It is like a map of time - the earth drawing itself on a massive scale."

"To pick up a rock, is to touch base. Touching stones gives us a primal, spiritual connection with the earth. When we handle a stone, we hold in our hands a small drawing, a tiny piece of the map; we are holding time."

Go and read Sue Lawty's full post here, on read on about the concept behind my new body of work: 

SPORE

A new body of work by Janet Botes is inspired by the marks left on the landscape. We leave marks on the landscape, whether we want to or not, whether we are consciously aware of it or not. We leave footprints, a track, a spoor. Too often scars, blemishes, stains. Similar or so much different, so much less or more permanent, than the indentations and marks left by water, insects, animals, the wind, and plant life? Can any mark left ever be permanent if everything in nature seems rather transient and always in a state of flux?

Interrelatedness exist between organisms, no matter how small or large, sentient or not. This connection and interrelation is explored specifically as it relates to surfaces: skin, crust, shell. One of the works of the new body of work is a performance art piece, entitled SAND(SPOOR], and integrates contemporary dance movement, drawing, poetry, video/projection and sculpture/installation art. It also involves the use of natural materials like rocks, leaves, wood and sand, and music and sound created and compiled by Janet Botes and Pierre Bezuidenhout.

SAND(SPOOR] will be performed on 1, 3 and 5 July 2012 at 1pm, at the Arts Lounge at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. SAND(SPOOR] also forms part of the SCAPES arts project.