The Old Diocesan Issue 13 - Magazine - Page 70
ART
First, he reflected on “the ongoing
experience of place – spaces within
which we move and find meaning”,
and the wide range of attitudes
we three exhibiting artists have
towards place. “Art is a visual,
not verbal, encounter,” he noted,
before describing communication
as involving a sender, a message,
a receiver and the important acts of
encoding and decoding. The sender
must shape an idea into a form
the receiver can understand; the
receiver must then interpret that
form. In art, this means artists
must encode their experiences
through choices – of materials,
scale, marks and subject matter
– that the viewer must decode.
If the viewer engages deeply,
then insight and enrichment flow.
Born in Toronto, Tom Cartwright
moved regularly as a youngster
between Canada’s largest city
and Cape Town; consequently,
he remains interested in themes
of displacement and resettlement.
His work also “explores the coming
together of the natural world and
the human-made”. Some of the
work Tom exhibited in this show
came from an earlier exhibition,
titled “Feels like Home” – “paintings
drawn from the personal photo
archives of immigrants, refugees
and other itinerants about leaving
home and creating a new home;
an ongoing series in which he
continues to explore themes of
home, displacement, immigration
and the effect of political policies
that restrict movement”.
Michael Beckurts has always
been fascinated by textures and
patterns, and by the light, glow
and atmosphere of a place. The
title of this exhibition, “Significance
of Place”, resonated with him,
as drawing a place often feels
for him like drawing a portrait:
the scene becomes the sitter.
Michael is grateful to have
grown up in the beautiful city of
66 | THE OLD DIOCESAN
A selection of works by Peter Hyslop: ABOVE Looking up at Devil’s Peak from
the Rondebosch Common No. 4 (2025). BELOW LEFT Looking up at Devil’s
Peak from the Rondebosch Common No. 3 – Springtime. (Both from the “Tribute
to Mervin Walsh Series”, 2025.) OPPOSITE Wolfberg Arch, Cederberg (2025).
ABOVE Red Landscape, AgterPakhuis, Cederberg – Looking
Towards the Tankwa Karoo, the Karoo
Basin and the Escarpment (2026).
RIGHT In the Swartkops Aloe Reserve,
Eastern Cape (2024).
