OD11 digital HR - Flipbook - Page 64
ART
“All our imaginations, coloured
by experience and culture, fill and
shape the landscapes we inhabit.”
There is perhaps no place
this truth is more evident than
in creative works; and perusing
the displays at the OD art exhibit,
I was struck by how clearly they
were shaped and formed by the
artists’ experiences of place.
This was first made obvious to
me once I’d spent time with Richie
Ryall’s (1977F) two excellent acrylic
paintings of the front entrances
of Founders and School House
with gorgeously rendered lighting.
These loving renders of scenes so
deeply familiar and special to me,
despite having left Bishops well
after Richie did, brought home
the grounding, unifying power
of landscapes that we come
to see as our “place”.
With this in mind, I began to
look at the other displays with
a fresh appreciation for how they
were influenced by place. Although
all reflected this to a significant
degree, one artist whose work
greatly stood out in this regard
was Thomas Cartwright (1988K).
Thomas related to me how, in
his youth, the frequent shuttling
between South Africa and his
birth country, Canada, left him
with a complicated relationship
with place, and a sense of kinship
with those who are unmoored
and rootless. This, in turn, led to
his remarkable “Feels Like Home”
series. The paintings were inspired
by photographs sent to him by
refugees of places that, to them,
felt like home. Depicting a diverse
variety of locations, from Syria
and South Africa to Arizona and
Vanuatu, the paintings – many
of which evoke a melancholy
undertone of homesickness,
despite (in some cases)
representing places the artist
had never been to – speak to
a tremendous empathy on
62 | THE OLD DIOCESAN
Morning Light by Richie Ryall (1977F).
OD WINEMAKERS AT THE EVENT
Chris Alheit (1999O) of Alheit Vineyards
Theo Basson (1991F) of Ormonde
Peter de Wet (1995W) of De Wetshof Estate
Nick Gebers (1982W) of Post House Wines
Sir De Villiers Graaff (1988F) of De Grendel
Johnathan Grieve (1995S) of Avondale
Alex Starey (1997W) of Keermont
Bruce Jack (1987G) of Bruce Jack Wines
Pierre du Preez (1987W) of Beau Constantia
Pierre van der Merwe (1986F) of Merwida
Chris Rawbone-Viljoen (2001F, right) of Oak Valley
Jeff (1975F, top), Simon (1975F) and David Grier (1977S) of Villiera
