Seeing huge, colour-dreamy works that look like visuals straight out of a picture book sounds pretty wonderful, but believe us, seeing it is otherworldly. And taking a closer glance, you’ll see that the designs that seem so brave in their size, are actually made of a thousand tiny grains.
A thousand grains can build a city.
Once you gaze upon art like this, tangible art, art that builds, art that came from the same product used to make sweet meal or beer, something in you tends to shift.
Little piece by little piece, large beauty can be created. Rebuilding or starting with the little that we have? In my opinion, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Ashleigh Nefdt, it’s the latter.
Sandton City, Umhlanga’s Gateway and Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront are now the stages of these creations.
But who is behind it all?
The great art minds of our country, of course. Three of SA’s top artists have come together in what is a first for SA art history by simultaneously showcasing their artworks.
The theme?
“Pure Malt in the Right Hands Becomes Pure Art.”
Each artist is taking on a different city, and here’s the breakdown.
- Cape Town, V&A Waterfront repped by Yay Abe
“Creating art using malt is an exciting task. I really wanted to create a piece of art that is inclusive of the viewer and allows you to walk around and appreciate the pure craftsmanship behind the piece as well as the company of others,” says Yay Abe, A.K.A Russel Abraham.
Abe is a force in the art world, known for “undoubtedly [bringing] the ordinary to life as per S-Mag. Nothing is off limits either, from t-shirts to walls to the cover of SA’s music elite YVNG & FREE campaign on Apple Music.
“For me, the bigger the space and the more challenging the medium, the better it is,” said Abe.
- Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Square, repped by Sindiso Nyoni
“I’m really curious to be working with malt and mastering it in the piece as an artistic medium,” says Nyoni. Nyoni is a contemporary illustrator, activist, street artist and multi-disciplinary graphic designer, tackling some of Africa’s most pressing issues in the form of visual art.
“My piece is called ‘Lady and Man’. It’s an ode to couples, the spirit of a union and special moments, in living colour,” said Nyoni.
Working primarily in pencil, ink, pastels, gauche, acrylic and digital media fusion, Nyoni creates a subversive “street style” and his work has been showcased as far afield as New York, London, Berlin,
Madrid, The Guggenheim Bilbao Museum, and The Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City.
- Durban, Gateway repped by Baba Tjeko
“Anyone can pick up a brush and paint, but a true artist creates a masterpiece. Pure malt is similar to other art materials and, for me, represents endless possibilities. It is a raw material that I am using to
create a beautiful meaningful artwork that I hope people can connect with. The work’s purpose is to invite people to savour life together and enjoy special moments,” said Baba Tjeko.
Baba Tjeko is a multidisciplinary, award winning and self-described afro-centric artist will capture a modern African couple’s intimate moment. He portrays African ideas and perspectives through his Litema artwork, a form of Basotho mural art composed of decorative geometric patterns, mostly in black and white with hints of mainly blue, yellow and red.
As the artists note, the sharing of special moments together, is what builds a city, builds a nation. As small as these moments may be, they spur joy, and that is what builds a nation.
Indeed, collaborator Stella Artois was right when they presented the task, and exemplified how what can make beer can also make masterpieces.
“We asked Baba, Sindiso and Yay to take the same ingredients of Pure Malt and create Pure Art. The installation is also our contribution to the aesthetic of our cities while examining what it means to be human in the belief that art has the power to bring people together,” said Marsha Kumire, Brand Director High End Africa.
Picture: Supplied