STORIES
Storytelling at FARMHOUSE is a continuation of the journey of African griots. What was remains in what is without being what defines us. Afterall, we are on a never-ending, making journey. There’s more to the FARMHOUSE story – the regenerative design, the location and the COMMUNITY are a start to that conversation.
CURRENT ART INSTALLATIONS
Tawanda Takura
Tawanda Takura (b.1989, Zimbabwe) is an emerging artist and sculptor known for his poetic use of discarded materials as a means to express the intricate nature of contemporary life. His current work, the first of its kind intended for outdoor display, makes use of a combination of found objects and shoes that collectively suggest the complexity of nature.
l was inspired by the book of Chii and the gracefulness of nature, how it is respectful and takes care of itself. the book of Chii says; free yourself, make light your burden, gather energy and not use force or you will cause the flow to cease, use the power of air and water, respect the natural flow of nature.
l was fascinated by this quote: It teaches to embrace inner peace and become one with yourself and your environment. l was looking at how a plant recycles its energy, take for example a guava plant beares guava fruit and the fruit grows and becomes ripe, then it falls down to the point of decay giving its energy completely to the ground where it’s energy is recycled into another life source of guava plant. It’s interesting to see the plant’s gracefulness of understanding when it is time to ripen and to decay and it doesn’t use force in its life process; therefore nature becomes blossom.
l view it as the continuity of energy from one cell to the other and l relate this process as a commentary on my country’s socio-political space. The leadership need to empty themselves and become humble so that they are reborn positively in their mindset. There are a lot of unfulfilled promises to the public, corruption and misappropriation of funds, which has brought the nation to a complete halt. They need to embrace the flow of nature and not use force so that the country can be reborn.
The defiance of nature only prolongs the healing process of a nation. This was my thinking process during this project.
Tawanda Takura
Artist in Residence
NIROX/FARMHOUSE 2021
Cradle on the ridge
Cradle on the ridge
As the rain falls we think of roofs,
walls, we think about shelter
and the half-discovered cave
on the dolomite ridge nearby,
a crib that rocked our fallen ancestors,
sedimented eyeless prophets
of the land and weather
and what we would end up doing to them.
by
INGRID DE KOK
First published in Illuminations 25, The Rathasker Press, 2009.
Also published in the US Journal.