South Africa

_{Posted on Wednesday 18-7-2007}

Steeling the show

_{What’s two metres by four metres in size, made of steel and breaks down into 14 pieces? It’s van der Merwe art and it has been designed specially for the Simonsberg Ward - a collection of some of the best wine farms in South Africa. The sculpture will be revealed for the first and only time at the Stellenbosch Wine Festival (2-5 August 2007). Visitors to the Stellenbosch Wine Festival will be able to see Strijdom van der Merwe’s huge sculpture in its entirety for just four days before it’s deconstructed and re-erected as constituent sculptures at each of the 14 Simonsberg Ward wine farms. Strijdom van der Merwe is highly regarded in the art world here and internationally. He has also made a name for himself in his home town of Stellenbosch, his landscape sculpture always attracts much applause and attention. The artwork for the Simonsberg Ward is a departure from Strijdom’s normal style, and particularly as it requires his grinding away – literally – at an engineering workshop in order to create it.}

_{Once the sculpture is deconstructed, each piece (about two metres high) will be displayed on the 14 wine farms to signify the connectivity between them as members of the Simonsberg Ward; farms that are united by the beautiful and imposing Simonsberg mountain and by its unique terroir. This stunningly beautiful area of the Cape winelands boasts excellent restaurants, cheeseries, ecotourism activities and of course delicious wines to taste too. The Simonsberg Ward wine farms are Delheim, Kanonkop Wine Estate, Knorhoek Wines, Laibach Vineyards, Le Bonheur Estate, Morgenhof Estate, Muratie Wine Estate, Quoin Rock, Remhoogte Wine Estate, Rustenberg, Tokara, Thelema, Uitkyk Estate and Warwick Wine Estate.}

_{Strijdom’s career almost distinguishes him as a ‘travelling wilberry’ of the art world. As a landscape artist, he has received high acclaim for the way he transforms an aspect of a scene to make it even more eye-catching. By adding things like flags, ribbons or a ring of stones, the visual impact is heightened by its temporary nature.}

_{Strijdom van der Merwe}

_{A graduate of Stellenbosh University, he is this year’s winner of the Medal of Honour of the SA Academy of Art and Science. He’s studied print-making in Utrecht, Holland; he’s lectured in graphic design and computer graphics at Stellenbosch University; he’s spent six months in the Czech Republic and was appointed ‘artist in residence’ at the Kent Institute of Art in Canterbury. Since 1996, Strijdom has exhibited all over the world - from Japan to Turkey and Mexico to Lithuania. As an artist, curator and judge at countless festivals, exhibitions and galleries, he has won awards at KKnK, created many art documentaries and written, or rather sculpted, a book entitled ‘Sculpting the Land’, which contains 130 full colour pages of his landscape art.}

_{Commenting on his work for the Simonsberg Ward, Strijdom said: “These wine farms, already work with the land so I wanted to find something to contrast with this – something that could stand out for them. That’s why I’ve used steel in a large form.”}

_{A smaller replica of the entire sculpture – at two metres high – will be a permanent reminder of the original temporary full artwork and will be on exhibition at tourism outlets, wine events, art galleries and exhibitions around the country.}

_{Submitted by Karey Evett (ke@wiredcommunications.co.za)
PR Company: Wired Communications
Telephone Number: 021 464 1144
Cellphone Number: 082 789 89 32
Client's name: Simonsberg Ward}

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