Harbouring Differences 1

'Harbouring Histories'

Various Artists at Durban University of Technology (DUT) Gallery

This exhibition arose out of a memorandum of understanding between the two universities and a visit to DUT by Prof Donal Fitzpatrick, Head of the School of Art and Design at Curtin, in May 2009. Prof Fitzpatrick gave the keynote address at the Faculty of Arts and Design Conference on Creative Research Outputs. Tony Starkey, head of Fine Art and Jewellery Design at DUT, suggested to Prof Fitzpatrick that the two departments hold a joint exhibition of staff work at the DUT and Curtin galleries.

This process was taken forward by Julian Goddard, Head of the Art department at Curtin, and an exhibition on A3 paper, titled 'Harbouring Histories', was conceptualized. Staff members submitted works to three reviewers, Harry Hummerston and Brenda Ridgwell from Curtin and Dr Andrew Verster from Durban. Works accepted by the reviewers will be exhibited at the DUT Gallery in September and the Curtin University Gallery in December 2010. This is the first step in a long term project to establish close ties between DUT and Curtin University in the areas of staff and student exchange, research and curriculum development to ensure that the department of Fine Art and Jewellery Design at DUT positions itself in a global context. Twenty three artists will be exhibiting on the exhibition, such as Themba Shibase and Nirmy Ziegler.

The exhibition will be opened by Professor Graham Stewart (Deputy Dean, Faculty of Arts and Design, Durban University of Technology) on the 1 September.

01 September 2010 - 15 September 2010

http://www.artthrob.co.za/Galleries/Durban-University-of-Technology-(DUT)-Gallery.aspx

Artist Name: Nirmi Ziegler

Work title: ‘global’

Date of production: 2010

Media: handmade paper, leaves, recycled, plastic bag threat

Dimensions: A 3 ( Ø 297 mm)

General Concept:

Ziegler’s work is created by using the process of papermaking from plant off-cuts or cotton rags. The pulp forms the basis for a process of layering. This is done with inlays applied on the wet paper. In a further process after the drying, some of these papers then become the support for prints, embroidery, and further collage. Her main concerns deal with environmental (outer) issues and an inner exploration.

Nirmi Ziegler: My investigation

The great benefits of science and technology are overshadowed by an irresponsible attitude of greed which destroys our environment. This ignorance of our reality (being part of nature, embedded and nourished by the environment, and a part of the whole), triggered my curiosity into the reasons for such irrational behaviour.

Global

The ‘mapping’ of a round-shaped handmade paper with skeletonized leaf fragment inlays gives a strong suggestion of environmental destruction as man-made interference on our planet. The leaves, captured in their decay, are delicate and although aesthetically pleasing, refer to the ‘momento mori’ genre in art, which functions as a reminder of one’s mortality.

Time measures the journey of life vertically, while meditation approaches it in a horizontal way. Our brain has developed in such a way that it constantly produces thoughts, which are either involved with the past or with the future. Meditation is the approach to achieve a glimpse / view of the world without the interference of the mind and its constant production of thoughts. It means nothing other than ‘being in the moment’ and the experience is that of timelessness and deep oneness with existence. In meditation I experience the presence of plants as 'enlightened beings' of breathtaking beauty, life giving utility and an essential part in our ecosystem. But in our mind they exist as Diaspora while we indulge in an illusion of megalomania. I let the plants 'speak for themselves' by using them directly.

Harbouring Differences 2

Artist: Nirmi Ziegler

Work title: ‘network I’

Date of production: 2010

Media: handmade paper,
leaves, digital print, threat

Dimensions (h x w): A 3 (297 x 420 mm)

General Concept:

Ziegler’s work is created by using the process of papermaking from plant off-cuts or cotton rags. The pulp forms the basis for a process of layering. This is done with inlays applied on the wet paper. In a further process after the drying, some of these papers then become the support for prints, embroidery, and further collage. Her main concerns deal with environmental (outer) issues and an inner exploration.

Network

‘Harbouring differences’ set me on a journey investing the inner and outer manifestation of relationships. The topography of the two harbours of Durban and Perth translated into mapping: the imaginary handmade paper map with leaf inlays and the scientifically correct one, printed with the latest digital technology. By sawing the two along the latitude and longitude lines together I created a net which became the metaphor of a ‘network’, the latest development of social interaction. Networks are ‘a series of points or nodes interconnected by communication paths’ (Harbeck, 2009). Networks have a social function, or business function, or actually both. The network becomes a tool, a career path, another way to ‘get up there’, and using ‘one’s connections’. There is an inner manifestation of relationship, too. In between this ‘21^st century network hype’, signified by colour and precision in my artwork, slipped an archaic uneven rough paper with skeletonized leave fragments, telling the story of the coming and going of life on this ancient planet in this eternal universe. A story of old leaves lying on the ground waiting to become earth again and an artist, very interested in the miracle of her inner self and love.

Ref. Harbeck,R. (2009).Network.Available: http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci212644,00.html (Accessed 30.July 2010)

‘money - greed’

Nirmi Ziegler 2009

Artist Name: Nirmi Ziegler

Work title: ‘money - greed’ triptych

Date of production: 2009

Media: handmade papers, money

[Cotton rag, white and night-blue, palm fibres]

Dimensions (h x w): 29 x 42 cm (each)

Description: ‘money - greed’, triptych

‘money – greed’ consists of 3 handmade paper artworks, each one of different colour and material, representing a quality of context. The white cotton rag paper reads the word ‘Capitalism’, the inlay consisting of the cut up strips of a fifty Rand note. The brown palm paper reads ‘Environment’, the letters consisting of a cut up ten Rand note, showing a Rhino. The night-blue cotton rag paper reads ‘Corruption’, this time the cut up banknote was a hundred Rand note. Each word is placed in the centre, stretching from one end to the other in the landscape format paper.

The money value of each cut up note reflects our actual value (despite the official version) of these concepts and the colours refer to their ‘character’: the earthy brown, the neutral white, and the uncanny night-blue.

‘money - barcode’
Nirmi Ziegler 2009

Artist Name: Nirmi Ziegler
Work title: ‘money- barcode’, triptych
Date of production: 2009
Media: handmade papers, money
[Cotton rag, white and night-blue, palm fibres]
Dimensions (h x w): 7 x 8 cm (each)

Artwork: ‘money - barcode’, triptych

‘money – barcode’ consists of 3 tiny handmade paper artworks, each one of different colour and material, representing the quality of it’s context. The centre work is on white cotton rag paper and the centrally placed, horizontal inlay consists of a cut up strip from a fifty Rand note. The brown plant paper above and the night-blue cotton rag paper below display the same horizontal strip: in the brown paper a strip of a ten Rand note, and in the night-blue paper a strip of a hundred Rand note.

The white paper represents the concept of ‘capitalism’, signified through its mass-produced, industrialized ‘cousin’ of the handmade paper. The brown palm paper represents the concept of the ‘environment’, as it is an alternative product and sort of earthy. And the night blue paper represents the concept of ‘corruption’, combining the industrially processed rag (as indication of exploitation) and the dark colour of the uncanny as reference.

The money value of each note reflects our actual value (despite the official version) of these concepts and the colours refer to their ‘characters’. I consider ‘corruption’ as the greatest ‘money maker’ globally, followed by ‘capitalism’, as a matter of fact, the two are almost twins…… and the looser is our ‘environment’. Due to this (monetary) evaluation of these concepts, we are loosing our very life source: our environment.

The relationship between art and money is that of love and prostitution: the moment it is defined as value, made into an asset, nobody looks at it for what it is, but what it is worth. The barcode on each purchasable item gives it its value and the banknote stripe mimics the barcode. This work engages with today’s role of art and the intimate size speaks rather of the boudoir than the marketplace.

Does art still rely on eyes to understand, sensible senses, an openness to recognize? Is art still a dialogue, a dance between the viewer and the viewed? By cutting up the banknote, I declare my love affair with art, but in the eyes of the law, I committed a crime. Did I?