Land Art Project in South Africa

From a different perspective: Moonraker

soekershof — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 08:52:48 +0000

Objects change per perspective and per time of the day. This picture of one of our landmarks was taken during the night and taken from this specific angle at this specific time during this specific night it became a ‘Moonraker’.

American Land Art Artist builds giga Nest

soekershof — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:44:58 +0000

Land Art Artist Jody Joyner from Tucson, Arizona, has just finished works on a giant nest (woven of hibiscus twigs) at Soekershof; Private Mazes & Botanical Gardens in South Africa in Robertson, Western Cape. She was inspired by the numerous weaverbird nests in the old stretch of the Klaas Voogds River which runs through the gardens. Joyner is on a global tour for several months. Before commencing her job at Soekershof two months ago she was involved in Landartgenerator in Dubai and a project in the Louvre in Paris. From South Africa she will first be involved in a project with aboriginals in Australia and from there she will create an object with Inuit in the North of Canada. Her assignment in South Africa was part of Land Art project in South Africa; an initiative of Soekershof. This project is a pure private initiative without (governmental) grants and/or subsidies.

The Philosophers Garden

soekershof — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 07:56:16 +0000

Here we start every morning with a little bit of wisdom Reason for us some years ago to create a garden with quotes scattered around on tablets. Quotes are from people like Albert Einstein, George Burns, Kahlil Gibran, ourselves and other celebrities. We also invite every now and than a visitor to add one. In de course of the years this went a little bit out of control but we’re getting back in track again during the coming months. Land Art Artist Jody Joyner from Tucson (AZ), USA is helping us out. From 20 December to the end of February she will be engaged to re-arrange plant beddings and quotes.

She will also add her own objects (made from material of the land). For 1 year Jody is travelling around the globe (funded by several institutions). She did her own location research and saw the potential of Soekershof to fullfill one of her dreams. Soekershof is also known under the name Green Cathedral of South Africa (derived from a media publication) and at the moment this huge sculptural succulent garden and maze (with land art objects) is attracting a sharply increasing interest from Europe and especially the USA.

Observatory of the South African country women

soekershof — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:55:37 +0000

It certainly attracts women!!! And not only South African women. Recently it was broadcasted on national TV (lifestyle program KWELA) that we had to carry the presentor Lise Swart out of this spot in the Klaas Voogds Maze for the simple reason she wanted to stay there forever; dreaming she’d be a farmer’s wife.

The idea for this simple sundial originates from our first weeks here in South Africa. We were invited by one of the farmers nearby for a BBQ (“Braai”) and he introduced us to the South African “boere lewe” (farmer’s life): “If a woman want to be lazy for the rest of her life”, he told, “she marries a farmer. She will have servants all over the house; one for cooking, one for washing, one for cleaning the house, etc.. So she only have to get up at 9 AM for breakfast; at noon she has lunch and at 4 PM coffee or tea with the other country women”.

This inspired us one-and-a-half year later to create this observatory in The Klaas Voogds Maze with the three different times on the longest and shortest day. At these days and different times the longest pole casts it shade exactly over the top of the appropriate ’time pole’.

This object was created together with the brothers Chris and Pieter Grobbler from Robertson. Pieter died a few months after we installed the last poles in December 2002. Chris pops in with his wife and daughters every now and than for “a treat” (always on 21 June or 21 December).

Addendum 1: The wife of the farming neighbour who told us the story 10 years ago has 7 servants in and around the house …… and at the moment showing off her new Mercedes…………

Addendum 2; We also know farmer’s wives in South Africa who really work hard from early in the morning to late in the evening. In this area however these are exceptions.

Rock Art in the Dry Garden

soekershof — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:12:31 +0000

Two landscape students of Blois in France are creating a new 1500 sqm large Dry Garden at Soekershof and this morning was dedicated to 11 students and 2 teachers of the Waldorf School in nearby McGregor. They made several rock paintings visualising their daily experience of life anno 2009. Maybe the Dry Garden will be ‘The Archeologic Hotspot” of the year 20010.

Herewith an impression and for more pictures click here.

A Landmark in Klaas Voogds

soekershof — Tue, 05 May 2009 06:40:01 +0000

Land Art Project in South Africa; The Cactus

One of the man made objects in the garden is the Pachycereus Plaatjies (‘specie name’ after maker Marthinus Plaatjies). This wooden cactus is entirely made (ancient method) of restpieces wood without the use of nails and screws; just dewels and without the use of machinery; just hand tools. There is craftmenship within the ‘historically disadvantaged communities’ in South Africa but that is unfortunately not always recognised.

Xolile about his ‘Mama’

soekershof — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:58:35 +0000

“Mama Africa is a unique Earth Sculpture made of the Land.

For me the significance of Mama Africa is homage to our roots and also that we are doing something so extraordinary; something to be proud of.

Mama Africa symbolizes a strong personality which does not back down to any challenge. That’s the reason why African women are so strong; you touch a woman, you touch a rock.

Creating Mama Africa was hard work.

Sweat caused by extreme hot weather. It took us a couple of weeks to shape this sculpture. It was even difficult during rain.

But it is worthwhile because the result is a Masterpiece and out here.

Hopefully Mama is going to make history”.

Gardener Xolile Ngqwarushe of Soekershof; Private Mazes & Botanical Gardens in South Africa; co-creator of Mama Africa

(Mama Africa is 3 metres high, 6 metres wide and 14 metres long)

Natural sculptures

soekershof — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:54:16 +0000

There is, we think, no garden that stimulates associative minds as much as a succulent garden. The ‘strange’ shapes of succulents inspired Afrikaners to give names to plants which sometimes sound rude (but they don’t mean it that way, it’s just a way of expressing themselves) such as ‘Ou Meid se Boude’ (old woman’s buttock), ‘hondeballen’ (dog balls), ‘katteballetjies’ (cat balls) ‘perdetande’ (horse teeth) and ‘baba boudjies’ (baby buttocks). Afrikaners are very associative people (most of our South African visitors are Afrikaner). They appreciate the natural sculptures and they are also the ones who associate plant shapes with more commomly known shapes. But ‘abstract (land) art’ is something they are troubled with (for them it’s not natural) but the earth sculpture ‘Mama Africa’ (see first contribution of this blog) they really love. Unless there is a story with it they don’t see the clue. We are generalising a bit now and of course there are many exceptions the other way around; English speaking South Africans who never had something to do with plant life suddenly starting to photograph plants and plant details for the simple reason that there is some association.

There are almost 2500 different ‘natural succulent sculptures’ in our garden. Many of them stimulate the human imagination. Not is single one is the same.

There are many shapes; even that of the human brain (also worthwhile are the brains of Klaas Voogds) but these are for people to discover themselves one day.

The Stone Age Cinema

soekershof — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 07:58:59 +0000

A leaking concrete water reservoir inspired us to ‘recycle’ it into a ‘stone age cinema’ in which the pictures don’t move but visitors move along the pictures in order to get the picture.

The movie tells the tale of the legendary Klaas Voogds as being told by locals.

The true story however is different; Klaas Voogds (1670 – 1718) still has his mark on the contemporary history of South Africa with the emphasis on the Western Cape. Klaas Voogds can also be regarded as the South African James Bond of the eighteenth century.

The pictures were drawn by Dutch artists Bertus & Wilma in December 2001.

Three weeks ago …

soekershof — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:09:46 +0000

Three weeks ago we installed our ‘cruise missile’. It’s four metres high, weights 250 kilogram and stands on a heep of 1.5 metres high.

It’s our own design and made from rest pieces wood by local woodworker Marthinus Plaatjies; hence the ‘botanical’ title of this wooden cactus: Pachycereus plaatjies

One of these weeks we will ‘cultivate’ the heep and one of the the next submissions to this blog whill show you a complete different picture of the same object.