PARADISE, PERPETUATED IS Art - Tokara Sculpture Garden – 10 Year Anniversary By Hendrik F. Theron www.is-art-gallery.com
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here is something undeniably special about an anniversary – a moment caught amongst the mechanical triggering of reflection and existential engagement. It’s fair to say, however, that this reflection is largely rooted in the distinct nature of one’s sentiment and nostalgia; those pillars which carry the vestiges, memories and remnants of one’s high points, low points and everything in between. Of cause and effect, none of these epochs of are more visceral than that of the socalled hallmark anniversaries – 10 years, 15, 20 and so on. Generally, and, under the institution of marriage, each of these milestones are bestowed with a specific designation and colloquial moniker – tin, crystal, porcelain, and so it goes. With the metaphorical marriage between IS Art Stellenbosch and the Tokara Estate – through its pioneering Sculpture Garden – now celebrating its 10th year of existence, its “tinanniversary” is upon it. When considering the popular culture surrounding this anniversary, it is said that one commonly celebrates and commemorates the tenets of both durability and pliability. It signifies that whilst something may be malleable and subject to change, it can nevertheless remain resolute – that it can be bent, but not broken. It goes without saying that in the past 10-years, if not for anything else, the Sculpture Garden has come to signify just that: a perpetually growing and changing vision, yet one that has remained a stoic and steadfast back-bone of contemporary, fineart sculpture within the Cape Winelands, and moreover, the country. To this end, from its ground-breaking inception, the Sculpture Garden has gone from strength to venerable strength, cementing itself as a relentless force of modern art and haven to countless of South Africa’s foremost sculptors and their works. Accordingly, the Sculpture Garden can also be seen to embody the notion of lieu de mémoire, which, similarly to an anniversary,
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Strijdom van der Merwe, Totem I, II & III, Treated wood with brushed acrylic paint 300 x 22 x 3 cm
Above: Etienne de Kock, Consider Phlebas, Steel, 260 x 80 x 155 cm, 2019. Opposite Page: Angus Taylor, Dionysus, Carved Belfast granite, 420 x 600cm, Private Collection, 2017
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