The Making of The Stone Circle Project

The making of

The Stone Circle Project

Emma Willemse in collaboration with The Arteri 0

Left: The first stone circle to grace the Royal Arts Town Amphitheatre, was aptly titled Look, in anticipation to the Summer theatre performances that would follow in the space.

Mariana del Carmen, Kayla GrovĂŠ. Look (2020), stones collected from the VoĂŤlvlei Dam and other sites in the Riebeek Valley.

1,2m diameter.

Photo by Maria Kirstein.

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The making of

The Stone Circle Project Emma Willemse in collaboration with The Arteri

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Kayla GrovĂŠ.

Primordial (2020).

Detail of a stone circle in progress at a workshop for The Stone Circle Project, stones collected from the VoĂŤlvlei Dam, Riebeek Valley.

90cm diameter.

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Contents What is The Stone Circle Project?

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The Boat Circle

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The Amphi Circles

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The Making Process Time Span

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The Values

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The Workshops

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Design Process

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From Design to Installation

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Installation

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Sixteen Stone Circles

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The life of The Stone Circle Project

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Condensed info

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Contact

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What is The Stone Circle Project?

The Stone Circle Project is a site-specific public sculpture installation, situated in and around an outdoor amphitheatre in the gardens of the Royal Hotel in Riebeek Kasteel, overlooking the iconic Kasteelberg mountain in the Swartland, Western Cape, South Africa. The amphitheatre is known as the Royal Arts Town Amphitheatre (RATA) and is the venue for a Summer season of outdoor theatre performances in the Riebeek Valley, spearheaded by The Olive Branch Project.

As the first of a series of sculptural projects in the Revive! Public Sculpture Project, The Stone Circle Project was commissioned by Arts Town Riebeek Valley to attract visitors to RATA and the Riebeek Valley. Additionally, the stone circles in the amphitheatre were designed and carefully placed in their setting to serve as social distancing devices in the time of Covid-19. The goals of the project are to uplift and transcend audiences and viewers, to foster community involvement in the visual arts and to transfer art related skills to a young generation.

The project was conceived and conceptualized by local resident and visual artist Emma Willemse during the Covid-19 lockdown period in 2020. In manifesting the project, she collaborated with The Arteri, a collective of young creatives in the Riebeek Valley.

The Stone Circle Project consists of two components, namely the Boat Circle and the Amphi Circle sculptural installations. The placement of both components can be seen in the aerial view on the left.

Left: The Stone Circle Project (2020). Aerial view at The Royal Hotel, Riebeek Kasteel, western Cape, South Africa.

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The Boat Circle The Boat Circle component entails a labyrinth constructed with white river pebbles, leading to a found boat that is filled with stones.

The labyrinth mirrors the shape of the amphitheatre and the site is carefully chosen so that the boat is overlooking the adjacent dam and Kasteelberg Mountain, from where the stones in the boat were sourced.

Left and right: Emma Willemse. The Boat Circle (2020). Found boat filled with stones collected from the Kasteelberg Mountain, steel cradle, path made from river pebbles. Boat and path size: 20m x 26m.

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The artist Emma Willemse is known for employing the motif of the boat in her sculptural installations.

She has investigated the metaphorical significance of the boat in terms of the concept of displacement since 2008, and her various boat-like installations have been acquired by corporate and private collectors world-wide.

Right: Emma Willemse. Counting stones (2017), Public sculpture installation at the Old Harbour, Hermanus, Western Cape, South Africa. Found boat and stones collected from various sites in South Africa. 3m x2m x 1m.

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Since ancient times, the boat has always evoked rich metaphorical associations: as a vehicle that is designed to transport humans over water, the cargo also include our hopes, our dreams and our future expectations - our very ‘being in the world’. When linked to the Covid-19 experience, the visual weight of a boat filled with stones is evoking restrained movement and alluding to immobility.

Yet, combined with the symbolism of stones, which centres on ideas of endurance, stability, and permanence, the use of stones in this project can suggest resilience, survival and eventually hope.

Right: The Boat Circle (2020) installation view.

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The Boat Circle is conceived as an interactive artwork: viewers are invited to walk the path and place their own stones into the boat as a symbolic memorial act.

The ritual of placing a stone in the boat could be a unique remembrance performed individually, yet visually part of a collective mass of stones.

Left: The Boat Circle (2020). Aerial view of boat filled with stones.

Right: The Boat Circle (2020). Viewers who walk the labyrinth can place their own stones in the boat.

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Aerial view of the first eight Amphi Circles installed in the Royal Arts Town Amphitheatre.

ircles

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The Amphi Circles The Amphi Circle component consists of sixteen temporary stone circles, carefully spaced in the amphitheatre in order to serve as social distancing devices in the time of Covid-19.

The stone circles were designed and installed by members of The Arteri, under the guidance of Emma Willemse, by using stones collected from the Kasteelberg Mountain, VoĂŤlvlei Dam and other areas in the Riebeek Valley.

The design of the entire Stone Circle Project was inspired by the ancient stone circles, which were early markers of gathering, transcending time. The amphitheatre itself is a semi-circle and will be used for theatre productions that transcend the audience.

Right: The Amphi Circles (2020). View of the installation showing the spacing in the amphitheatre.

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The Making Process

Time Span

The commission for a sculptural project for the Royal Arts Town Amphitheatre was received in the third week of June 2020, and the project was conceived in a period of two weeks. After the proposal was submitted and accepted, the project flow, work process and execution were planned in detail, and the team members of The Arteri were appointed. A series of weakly workshops started in which the young creatives were guided by Emma Willemse in all aspects related to the Amphi Circles.

In the meantime, Emma Willemse finalised the design for the path and obtained the help of a local sculptor, Mike Hillier, to build the steel cradle for the boat. The boat had already been obtained in 2019 from a second hand shop in Swellendam. The river pebbles were sourced and the transport for the boat and its stones was organised.

The installation process took place incrementally, and was completed eight weeks after the first idea sketches were made. The Stone Circle Project was officially opened on the 9th of September 2020.

Left: Emma Willemse mapping out the labyrinth path with chalk, July 2020.

Right: Emma Willemse. First idea sketches for The Stone Circle Project., June 2020.

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Members of The Arteri working together as teams during one of the workshops.

Mariana del Carmen, Erynnede Bruyn, Kayla GrovĂŠ, Jay Gorden-Turner and Jon Wreal.

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The Making Process

The Values

At the first workshop, Emma Willemse and the members of The Arteri formulated the underlying principles of their involvement in the project.

Some of the principles included an undertaking to respect the environment from where the stones were sourced combined with a commitment to an authentic approach to the making process. These values lead to the collective decision to consider the stone circles as temporary loans from the Riebeek Valley environment and not installing them as permanent fixtures.

The transient stone circles will be maintained by The Arteri teams for the duration of Summer theatre season in RATA, after which the Amphi Circles and the Boat Circle installation will be dismantled. All the stones will be returned to their sources.

Right: Kayla GrovĂŠ busy collecting stones from the hills leading to the Kasteelberg Mountain.

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Kayla GrovĂŠ and Mariana de Carmen.

Preparatory sketch for The Stone Circle Project (2020). Stop-frame animation still.

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The Making Process

The Workshops Through a series of intense workshops, Emma Willemse guided members of The Arteri to expand their knowledge and understanding of land art and to establish a work process. At first, the inherent properties of stones and their design possibilities were investigated through playful design sketches, using limited stone collections.

After concerted stone collection expeditions to the Kasteelberg Mountain, the VoĂŤlvlei Dam, the Bains Kloof Pass and other sites in the Riebeek Valley area, each team member brought their collections to a central workshop area where the stones were sorted according to their size, shape, colour and texture.

Stone circle workshops included researching, sorting, classifying, experimenting, planning, analising, discussing, debating, reflecting and excellent teamwork.

Right: Sorting a collection of stones at one of the workshops.

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Making preparatory sketches for stone circle designs at the workshops.

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The Making Process

Design Process The design process included planning the compositions within a circle format by making preparatory sketches, while taking visual principles, such as shape, line and repetition, into consideration. The team members experimented with different stone combinations and composition lay-outs to create a range of colour and tone contrasts, and investigated various ways of placing stones, whether heaping, stacking, layering or juxtaposing.

This process provided a valuable visual and tactile knowledge of the stones as material, which proved helpful in finalizing successful final designs.

Jon Wreal designing a stone circle at one of the workshops.

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Experimenting with different design alternatives within the circle format and various ways of arranging stones.

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The planning and design process of the stone circle entitled Steve, by Erynne de Bruyn.

Stones collected from the VoĂŤlvlei Dam and other sites in the Riebeek Valley area. 1,5m diameter.

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The initial experimental sketch of the circle entitled Bekkig; and the refined end-product installed at The Royal Arts Town Amphitheatre.

Jay Gordon-Turner. Bekkig (2020). Stones collected from sites in the Riebeek Valley. 1,2 diameter.

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From Design to Installation

The planning, design and installation of the stone circle entitled Listen, by Jon Wreal, Kayla GrovĂŠ and Jay Gordon-Turner. The design is inspired by the anatomy of the inner section of an ear, called the cochlea.

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Kayla GrovĂŠ, Jay Gordon-Turner and Jon Wreal with their installed stone circle called Listen, stones collected from the VoĂŤlvlei Dam and other sites in the Riebeek Valley.

1,5m diameter.

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The Making Process

Installation After a circle design was approved, documented and titled, the stones were packed in bags and stowed away in a bucket, marked with the title of the circle. The bucket was taken to the amphitheatre site where the circle was recreated, using the photo documentation as reference.

This practice of using only the stones that were really needed, was an attempt to curb wastage, in this way honoring the decision to respect the natural environment where the stones were sourced from.

Burton Esau, Jon Wreal, Sebastian Kirstein and Kayla GrovĂŠ installing pre-designed stone circles at the Royal Arts Town Amphitheatre.

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Sixteen Stone Circles

Kayla Grové. Primordial.

Erynne de Bruyn. Wings.

Jon Wreal. Antigen.

Jon Wreal. Overhang Co-ordinates

Mariana del Carmen, Kayla Grové.

One strange rock.

Kayla Grové, Jon Wreal. T(c)osy

Jon Wreal. Skild/Shield

Mariana del Carmen, Kayla Grové. Look

All stones collected from the Kasteelberg Mountain, Voëlvry Dam, Bainskloof Pass and other sites in the Riebeek Valley area. Sizes of circles vary between 90c to 1,5m in diameter.

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Sixteen Stone Circles

Jon Wreal, Jay Gordon-Turner, Sebastian Kirstein. Lungs

Burton Esau. Weerkaats/Sonlig

Kayla Grové, Mariana del Carmen. Hande

Sebastian Kirstein. Triquetra

Jay Gordon-Turner, Erynne de Bruyn. Wink

Jay Gordon-Turner, Jon Wreal, Kayla Grové.

Listen

Jay Gordon-Turner. Bekkig

Erynne de Bruyn. Steve

All stones collected from the Kasteelberg Mountain, Voëlvry Dam, Bainskloof Pass and other sites in the Riebeek Valley area. Sizes of circles vary between 90c to 1,5m in diameter.

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Mariana del Carmen, one of the team members of The Arteri, doing a guided walkabout of The Stone Circle Project.

Jon Wreal. Overhang Co-ordinates (2020). Stones collected from the Kasteelberg Mountain. 1,5m diameter. Photo by Maria Kirstein.

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The life of

The Stone Circle Project The Stone Circle Project was driven by individuals, collectives and initiatives that believe in the survival of the human spirit through the arts. In addition to attracting visitors to the RATA Summer theatre programme, the project leaves a much needed and lasting impact on the economy through its training programmes, skills-transfer activities and involvement in the community.

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Teenage girls from the Riebeek Valley who participate in the Dream Again Foundation’s community programme, walking the labyrinth with Emma Willemse and placing their stones in the boat.

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A group photo of The Arteri team members and Emma Willemse at the launch of The Stone Circle Project in August 2020.

Erynne de Bruyn, Jon Wreal, Kayla GrovĂŠ, Mariana del Carmen, Jay Gordon-Turner and Emma Willemse. Sebastiaan Kirstein and Burton Esau were absent.

Photo taken by Johan Viljoen from the local newspaper Die Courant.

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The Stone Circle Project

Condensed info A site-specific, public sculpture installation at the Royal Arts Town Amphitheatre (RATA) Riebeek Kasteel, Western Cape, South Africa Installation period: June to August 2020 Exhibition period: August 2020 to May 2021 Concept: Emma Willemse Community collaboration: The Arteri Commissioned by Arts Town Riebeek Valley In collaboration with RATA and The Olive Branch Project Use of site with kind permission: The Royal Hotel, Riebeek Kasteel

Catalogue designed by Emma Willemse. November 2020.

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Contact Emma Willemse is a conceptual artist living and working in Riebeek Kasteel.

Arts Town Riebeek Valley

Promoting all the arts and crafts in the Riebeek Valley in order

www.emmawillemse.co.za

to stimulate cultural tourism.

emmart@worldonline.co.za

www.artstown.co.za

@willemseemma The Olive Branch Project The Arteri is a collective of young creatives aiming to promote artistic output amongst the youth of the Riebeek Valley.

@the_arteri

Actively involving the communities of the Riebeek Valley in performing and visual-arts projects with a view to finding common ground and healing wounds. https://www.facebook.com/TheOliveBranchProject

kaygro.apple@gmail.com

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