The project was a community initiative aimed to uplift and improve the existing building of the CAPE TOWN DISTRICT ASSOCIATION FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED. Spearheaded by the Afrika Burn collective, the project was project managed by Karen Stewart (The Ah HA Company), as part of the Streetopia Legacy Street Festival. The benefactors of the project were Afrika Burn and OBSID. Their funding contribution was the foundation for the support of the project.
The upliftment of the building was seen as a way to improve the overall environment of Observatory, and to include various community members in the process.
Architect and artist Lorenzo Nassimbeni was enlisted to design and implement the mural. A decision was made with Karen Stewart to work with the Mary Kihn School For The Deaf in Observatory and to conduct an art workshop with the students of the school. As such, the community of Observatory was engaged. The staff of the Mary Kihn School were closely involved in the process of the workshop. Much was learned and gained by all participants. The workshop produced fantastic artworks and experiences, and was seen as the most important part of the project, with the actual mural being a representative physical manifestation of it. The mural is a marker for this wonderful workshop experience.
Lorenzo Nassimbeni in collaboration with project facilitator Thandile Giyama worked with students of the Mary Kihn School For The Deaf in the workshop process. The workshop was designed to generate artwork material which would form the basis of the mural design. Students were taken into the Observatory neighbourhood to draw typical buildings. These drawings were translated into shapes, which Nassimbeni in turn translated into the mural design. As such, the students took ownership of the mural, which they essentially had directly worked on. The students were brought in to visit the process of painting the mural, so that they could see the result of their participation.
Further to this, members of the CTDAHI were included in the process through a presnetation of the process of the project. Hosted by Karen Stewart, CTDAHI members and Afrika Burn representatives saw a presentation by Thandile Giyama.
Motebang of KIEF COLLECTIVE was involved in the implementation process, as he had worked in the context of Observatory as an artist before.
Thandile Giyama, Simon Chinoda and Motebang Masitha worked with Lorenzo Nassimbeni in the implementation of the mural.
Artist Ralph Borland, who has created public artworks in Observatory before, was enlisted to create 2 illuminated artworks which would for a related part of the mural. He worked collaboratively with Lorenzo Nassimbeni.
Client :
Afrika Burn Streetopia Legacy and CTDAHI (Cape Town District Association for the Hearing Impaired)
Project Manager :
Karen Stewart (The Ah HA Company )
Artists :
Lorenzo Nassimbeni (mural) and Ralph Borland (illuminated artworks)
Project facilitator:
Thandile Giyama
Project custodians:
OBSID (Observatory Improvement District) and Mary Kihn School
Mural implementation:
Simon Chinoda
Motebang Masitha
Urban image : The overall view of the mural - a collection of shapes derived of the architecture of the urban environment.
Observation : Students were taken on an excursion into the urban environment so as to draw the typical buildings of the surroundings of their school.
Workshop : Students working independently to create singular artworks referring to the buildings of Observatory, based on their freehand drawings.
Architectural composition : One of the artworks of the students - singular building.
Shape collection : The mural incorporated an illuminated artwork by artist Ralph Borland. The colours were carefully matched, and the position selected so as to integrate the illuminated artwork.
Workshop : Working together to create a city from the shapes.
Urban route : The 'city' drawing reflects the experience which the students had of the neighbourhood, when drawing the buildings.
Process : The artworks of the students were interpreted by Lorenzo Nassimbeni to form a the composition of the mural.
Together : A team of skilled painters was assembled to work closely with Lorenzo Nassimbeni in the installation of the mural.
Shaped facade : The front facade of the building shows the mural responding to the 'city' drawing made by the students.
Natural link :The main facade of the mural relates to the geometry of the mountain in the background.
Nocturne : At night, the beauty of the illuminated artwork by Ralph Borland comes to the fore.
Upward : From various angles, the abstraction used in the design of the mural is highlighted.
The Westbury Park was designed by IYER Urban Design Studio in association with Local Studio Architecture and Urban Design. The brief for this mural encouraged the inclusion of the community of Westbury in the process of the creation of the mural. As such, I decided to engage members of the Westbury Youth Centre in the design process leading up to the implementation of the mural, in which they also played a significant part. I understood that the idea of physical and historical boundaries in the context of Westbury was important. The design strategy was to harness the site analysis skills of the members of the Westbury Youth Centre. In a guided process, the members ventured into the suburb of Westbury with cameras and the brief to document their understanding of and insight into the idea of ‘boundary’ with respect to Westbury past and present. The physical boundaries between Westbury and Sophiatown, Westbury and Newclare and Westbury and Coronationville were all included in the documentation. I then took the photographic information and used it to generate a collaged geometric which would pay homage to both the composition and narrative of the photographs taken by the Westbury Youth Centre members. Seeing the park as a physical microcosm of Westbury, the collaged geometries were painted onto the walls which refer spatially to the actual boundaries which the collage depicts. In this way, an image derived from contextual analysis refers in turn to context.
Photograph by Westbury youth centre member
Photographs by youth centre members become overlayed onto walls
Elevations of murals
Main focus mural
Main focus mural
Edge of main focus mural is a ramp
Edge of main focus mural is a ramp
Edge of main focus mural is a ramp
Boundary wall mural as edge to community
Boundary wall mural as edge to community
Mural at street edge and amphitheatre
I was commissioned by Artist Shaunez Benting to collaborate with him in the role of architectural consultant for a mural in Langa, Cape Town. The mural is for a project by Carin Smuts Architects at the Siyabulela Primary School. It is a project bringing together complementary actors to offer the youth of Langa an inspiring, welcoming, and safe space, primarily designed for dance practice (gumboots) and offering many other possibilities in terms of activities (academic support, robotics, etc.). The building is composedWe Are Etendart of two containers making an open courtyard. The building is programmed to facilitate the curriculum of the Happy Feet Project.
The mural was commissioned by the We Are Etendart association and Lacoste. The brief called for a mural which would celebrate the era of freedom after the Apartheid regime. The idea was also to establish the connection of the Madiba Challenge with Nelson Mandela. The mural was set to incorporate a joyful and festive dimension and communicate the notion of progress.
A simple patterned geometry was used on the facades facing the open courtyard. The facade at the back of the performance space shows the emblematic Table Mountain, a reference to the Madiba Challenge. The mural on the back of the ablution block bears the graphic referring to Lacoste.
The project saw the projection of 2 artworks on a digital screen of the ABSA building in the CBD of Johannesburg. Curated by Parts&Labour, it was a project for MABONENG ART WEEK 2014. The artworks are entitled Diagonal and Stair to Imagined City. Diagonal is an illustration from a series entitled Urban Moments commissioned by Architecture and Urbanism practice, UrbanWorks. The illustration represents an iconic view of Diagonal Street, looking northwards to the old Johannesburg Stock Exchange building, affectionately referred to as the ‘Diamond’ building. It captures an ‘urban moment’ in the context of the city – alluding to Diagonal Street as one of the 3 important lines in the urban landscape which formed what was known as the ‘Uitvalgrond’. Translated to ‘leftover land’ the space was delineated by the 3 farms of Braamfontein, Doornfontein and Turffontein.
Comparatively, the other illustration, Stair to Imagined City is inspired by the subterranean architecture of the Cradle of Humankind, just north of the Johannesburg. The Cradle of Humankind is widely regarded as one of the worlds most significant sites of paleontological discovery. The drawing was created in the ‘Wonder cave’ and traces the passage up a natural stairway, culminating in a rock formation resembling a sculptural ‘Madonna.’ The illustration was created during a drawing workshop entitled Drawing on Origins, hosted by the NIROX Foundation and the Gauteng Institute for Architecture (GIFA), and was curated by architects Elena Rocchi and Dieter Brandt. The workshop investigated the relationship between the disciplines of paleontology and architecture. The workshop featured a trip into the field by renowned paleontologist Professor Lee Berger, to the site of his recent discovery of Australopithecus sediba.
View from Fox Street 1
View from Fox Street 2
View from End Street
Film
Original illustration
The residency was created and coordinated by artist, writer and filmmaker Nicola Brandt, assisted by writer and artist Frances Whorrall-Campbell. It took place in the town of Rye, in East Sussex, and was hosted by Bridge Point Rye (David and Sarah Kowitz). The participants included Nicola Brandt, Peter Coffin (conceptual artist), Solveig Lønmo (art historian and curator), Elisa Schaar (art historian and curator) and Frances Whorrall-Campbell.
My reading of the conceptual discourse of the residency is that it is a meeting space for practitioners who have momentarily left their home context to spend time in a new and shared space. This generates a discussion inspired by a common physical landscape. In the first iteration of Conversations Across Place, each participant brought a unique perspective on space and its production. The presentations of the work of the various practitioners brought new perspectives to the notion of context and place. It is clear that the discussions during the residency will inspire continued conversation between the practitioners. This was one of the intentions of the residency.
During this time, I created a large scale mural of the old pier in Cape Town. There is remarkable likeness between the structure of this old pier, and some of the pier structures of East Sussex - Brighton for example. They are architecturally related, yet many miles apart in physical distance. The Cape as a British colony was greatly influenced by the language of Victorian architecture.
The mural represented a conversation between the landscape of my home town, and the landscape of Rye (representative of East Sussex).
Cape Town Pier versus Brighton Pier
Brighton Pier
Cape Town Pier
Mural drawing
Mural process
Mural process
Mural
Mural in conversation with mural by Peter Coffin
The mural was inspired by the geometry of an existing subterranean tunnel, linking Johannesburg’s
Park Station with the Post Office in Jeppe Street. The tunnel is no longer in use, and was previously used to transport postal mail from the train station to the post office. The exhibition formed part of an ongoing research project regarding the subterranean architecture of Johannesburg. The notion of the ‘invisible city’ is thus explored, the network of tunnels and mines which contributed to the establishment of Johannesburg as a city. The relationship of the geometry of the artwork, and the geometry of the volume of the gallery was considered, in keeping with the interest in the link between art and architecture.
Exhibition David Krut Projects October 2018.
The exhibition is a portrait of the artist, composed of varying qualities and languages of line work which are reflective of his response to various physical environments and contexts. The work in the exhibition is made up of 4 distinct chapters which are structured as a linear narrative - a journey from one form of urbanity or place to another as experienced by the artist. As the journey progresses, so the line quality, and its message, changes. The line is a barometer of the personal condition of the artist, in response to place.
Much like in the instance of a polygraph, the line changes depending on the pulse of the artist. This pulse is a reflection of Nassimbeni’s attitude to a place. The architecture of place is considered as well as felt, guiding the line intuitively. The works seek to uncover the idea of ‘the process of making’, and the discipline of printmaking. The layering of paper brings focus to the quality of line and process of the building of an image. These are principles inherent in the discipline of architecture and urbanism, as uncovered by the process of drawing and printmaking.
The collection of many images layered onto one another is about the creation of a language of line which tells the story of the artist’s emotive and cerebral response to varying types of urban environment, and in particular, the two which have been most present in his recent linear journey. In all, the artworks are a series of portraits of places made of lines which represent the artist's response to those places. As such, the portraits of the places work together in the presentation of a portrait of the artist.
Sleeping in chaos, Pencil, pen and acrylic ink on drafting film, 42 cm x 59,4 cm, 2018
Polygraph, Pencil, pen and acrylic ink on drafting film, 42 cm x 59,4 cm, 2018
The trace of the underground is consant,Pencil, pen and acrylic ink on drafting film, 59,4 cm x 84,1 cm , 2018
Park, Natural white sugarlift aquatint with soft ground etching on Chine-collé Hahnemühle, 70 cm x 100 cm, Edition of 6. 2016
Turning point, Pencil, pen and acrylic ink on drafting film, 29,7 cm x 42 cm, 2018
Urban eclipse, Pencil, pen and acrylic ink on drafting film, 29,7 cm x 42 cm, 2018
Kyrie, eleison, Pencil, pen and acrylic ink on drafting film, 29,7 cm x 42 cm , 2018
Wanting horizon, Pencil, pen and acrylic ink on drafting film, 29,7 cm x 42 cm, 2018
Concrete refuge, Pencil, pen and acrylic ink on drafting film, 59,4 cm x 84,1 cm, 2018
The trees, and the rain, and the warm tar of the streets, Pencil, pen and acrylic ink on drafting film, 59,4 cm x 84,1 cm , 2018
I think of strength, and of fragility, Pencil, pen and acrylic ink on drafting film, 59,4 cm x 84,1 cm, 2018
A looking forward, and a thinking back, Acrylic ink on tissue paper, 70 cm x 100 cm, 2018
Softness on metal, Acrylic ink on tissue paper, 70 cm x 100 cm, 2018
Stair, Natural white sugarlift aquatint with soft ground etching on Chine-collé Hahnemühle, 70 cm x 100 cm, Edition of 6. 2016
Angel, Pencil, pen and acrylic ink on drafting film, 119 cm x 182 cm , 2018
Looking up at the empty sky, Acrylic ink, pencil and graphite on tissue paper and drafting film, 42 cm x 60 cm, 2018
Near clarity, Acrylic ink, pencil and graphite on tissue paper, 42 cm x 60 cm,2018
Healing, Acrylic ink, pencil and graphite on tissue paper, 42 cm x 60 cm, 2018
Murmur of land-locked city, Acrylic ink, pencil and graphite on tissue paper, 42 cm x 60 cm, 2018
Not to be touched, Acrylic ink, pencil and graphite on tissue paper, 42 cm x 60 cm, 2017
It is a temporary place, Acrylic ink, pencil and graphite on tissue paper, 42 cm x 60 cm, 2017
La città del mio cuore (City of my heart), Acrylic ink, pencil and graphite on tissue paper, 50 cm x 70 cm, 2017
Frame, Natural white sugarlift aquatint with soft ground etching on Chine-collé Hahnemühle, 70 cm x 100 cm, Edition of 6. 2016
One has to imagine nature, Pencil, pen and acrylic ink on drafting film, 14,8 cm x 21 cm , 2018
Dry court, Pencil, pen and acrylic ink on drafting film, 14,8 cm x 21 cm , 2018
These artworks were created whilst in living on site at the NIROX Foundation at the Cradle of Humankind, Johannesburg. They represent an exploration into the relationship of the architectural and landscape elements of water and light. The drawings were made whilst in the field at the NIROX Foundation.
Sediba, Ink, guache and pencil on paper, 29.7 x 42 cm
Finding, Ink, guache and pencil on paper, 29.7 cm x 42 cm
Aquifer, Ink, guache and pencil on paper, 29.7 cm x 42 cm
Foundation, Ink, guache and pencil on paper, 29.7 cm x 42 cm
Treasure, Ink, guache and pencil on paper, 29.7 cm x 42 cm
Well, Ink, guache and pencil on paper, 50 cm x 67 cm
I Thought It Was You, Ink, guache and pencil on paper, 70 cm x 100 cm
Minora, Ink, guache and pencil on paper, 50 cm x 67 cm