…. but still many more days to go by the (political) looks of it.
I have documented the first 101 days of lockdown in South Africa. All black and white pictures shot in and around our village (Napier, Western Cape).
The lockdown has eased a bit and we were able to open our gallery again.
You are welcome to visit and see a new series of jewellery and haiku photographs.
Click on each picture to see it in full.
My wife Yvonne during one of her workshops. It’s a creative workshop where people learn to make jewellery of beach findings as kelp, sea weed, shells, driftwood, etc.
… my wife looks for materials she can use in her jewellery designs (Instagram: @yvonnedewitjewelry).
What a well organised event. 70 artists around the village and we (me and my wife Yvonne) were in the center of it all; in the Art Hall.
Napier (South Africa) has got talent; we all saw that recently with the theatre spectacle ‘Wonderland’ in the School of Skills in Napier (next posting).
A talent is also Abigail Camille. Many know her as one of the faces of ‘Pascal of Napier’ (local cuisine). I’ve used her a few times as a model and although she still has to learn a few tricks she’s got the potential to become a great photo model (if she wants)
Abigail Camille has many faces and goes up in different surroundings like a chameleon. I had the privilege to work with her on several occasions this year (with thanks to a.o. Vanilla Boutique and Jeremy Shoe Repair and Locksmith in Bredasdorp and Yvonne de Wit Jewellery in Napier (Okay; the last one does not count for she is my wife for life . Soon I hope to work again with her and if everything works out she will have the opportunity in the beginning of 2020 to learn a few tricks-of-the-trade from a well known African super model with whom I have another session.
Photo-model: Abigail Camille
(Ode to my wife Yvonne de Wit who designs and create original jewellery from treasures of the South African Earth)
“The moon is bland in colour. I call it shades of grey … And to find orange soil on the moon was a surprise.” Gene Cernan, astronaut, Apollo 10, Apollo 17
When artist Yvonne de Wit came to South Africa from her native Netherlands, it was with an open mind and with what became a growing fascination in the different types of rock and soils that the southern part of this great and diverse continent had to offer.
Through experimentation, she discovered that grinding diverse stones and pieces of rock found in different locations, offered up extraordinary colours, unusual ‘dusts’ that, when framed in silver, produced jewelry that reflected the land in a very different way.
Ideally, one needs to handle each piece of her collections to see, understand and appreciate the skill with which she works. Consider her chandelier earrings, for example. The artist explains that she picked up stones, ground them finely and then felt they would work as three ‘pendants’ from the ear. But they needed to balance. If one looks at the final pieces, one will see how delicately, intricately and exquisitely each hangs, individually, from a tiny common point. They are not soldered together; each of the three pendants somehow hangs perfectly in place. And in harmony with its opposite piece on the other ear.
For the artist, this says something about nature, and our place in it. How, ideally, our relationship with soil, air and water should be in perfect balance. How delicate that relationship is. And what surprises the dust of the earth harbours for us, despite our many preconceptions. Like the astronaut who expected shades of grey on the moon — and found orange. While Yvonne has an innate connection to the soil beneath her feet, she recognises that water has an inevitable and appealing connection. During whale- watching in Hermanus one year, she was fascinated not just by the creatures themselves, but also by their habits. The result? Her finely crafted ‘whale’ pendant. No, it is not the animal itself she has re-created (although many might think so). The artist was entranced by the very fine combination of water and air, expelled from the blow-hole as the whale rises to the surface and exhales. Yvonne has captured a moment essential to life on earth — exhalation before inhalation.
#Design and #Creation: Yvonne de Wit – Jewellery
#PhotoModel: Maggie Chinjati Mhango and Lauren Kehl
#Portraiture #Photography Herman van Bon
Let me take you on a photographic journey through our little town; Napier, Western Cape South Africa. On first sight it looks a bit dull but underneath a lot of activity; a guy who makes working miniature steam engines; a chess board maker a designer jeweller to mention a few and they all have customers from all over the world. I’m not going to introduce all those artisans but just show you around a bit.
My wife’s jewelry pictures at the Lourensford Market in Somerset-West in South Africa (every Sunday).
Original designs handmade of South African metals such as Sterling Silver, Brass and Copper; often combined with South African colorful soil- and crushed rock particles.
