Sunday, June 29, 2008

ROBERT SLINGSBY



I love the work of Robert Slingsby. From his detailed paintings inspired by San petroglyphs and his sculptures created from found objects......to the amazing log cabin he built for his family at the edge of the Bokkemanskloof forest in South Africa.



He built it from scratch, one log at a time, with very little 'know how'. It sits between woodland and megalithic rocks ......some of these rocks being incorporated into the house.

I mentioned breeder ideas in an earlier post. One can see that one of Slingsby's breeder ideas revolves around suitcases, luggage passing through scanners, customs at airports and the current state of heightened security. Last year he held an exhibition entitled 'Clearing Customs'.




"I was at Heathrow, feeling weighed down, fatigued … jet lagged, and it struck me how utterly vulnerable and violated we are under this constant surveillance and how normal it has become to be constantly invaded at these places of flux" recalls Slingsby. "I also had the feeling of excess, of a surfeit of stuff that we carry with us, not only in terms of physical luggage, but of psychological baggage."


To see more of Slingsby's work go to www.slingsby.co.za/. His latest paintings include modern iconography pertaining to city life but they are also reminiscent of the San petroglyphs that inspired his earlier work.

14 comments:

  1. oh my goodness. these pieces are just stunning! i love the colors, the shape and form and most of the the symbolism behind his work! thanks for sharing!

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  2. I came to reply to your comment..it won't last long..in fact its deteriorating by the minute..but I love this artist. fabulous inspiring work. Thanks.

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  3. That log cabin is amazing! I would have never pictured it in South Africa, of all places!

    Thanks for your thoughtful comment son my blog, btw. Nice 'meeting' you. I'll have to peruse your site further I see!

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  4. I see we both like Loreena McKennit! you don't come across that very often.

    i just added you to my blogroll to keep up to date.

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  5. He is amazing! Totally new to me. I thoroughly enjoyed this, Robyn!

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  6. Rboyn, just love your posts. They are always REAL, inspiring and grounded. I would love to wander through your garden and filch some of those lovely stones myself. South Africa has amazing stones. I love your daily finds. I love seeing Nina's poem about 'gathering'. I am looking forward to some time to myself before the baby comes to go foraging in forests and along the shoreline. I wish we could go together. Keep writing and creating. I respect and appreciate you. PS. did you see how tribal my latest works have gotten! Starting to develop my own flavour and was soooo thinking of you and your tribal art too! How amazing is that to find ourselves arriving at a similar place - well, maybe not so amazing, because there are many common threads between us, connecting us across the oceans.

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  7. I really like the last piece, the colours and overall tone of the painting feel so serene.

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  8. Julie, jackie and willow, I'm glad you have enjoyed Slingsby's work.

    mmm, I havn't seen many log cabins here but I think there are quite a few in the Cape which is where Robert Slingsby comes from. I have 6 of Loreena McKennit's CDs. Her music is so beautiful.

    Ahipara girl, thanks for the appreciation! I love the work you are doing now.It is really amazing how many things we have in common and I jsut love how easy it is to connect with like minded people all over the world.

    Azirca, He has done a whole series of paintings in the same vein.They are very easy on the eye but with so much detail and symbolism.

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  9. What great pieces! Thanks for sharing people I would have never have heard about otherwise.

    (I also love the monkey post!)

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  10. These are extraordinary. Not only the artwork, but also his words about modern day travel. How right he is. Why, even something as simple as walking my dog, I am weighed down in my pockets. The other day I said..no!...I do *not* need to carry cellphone, lipgloss, keys and three doggie doo-doo bags....I'll be back home in half an hour!

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  11. The paintings are very inspiring especially the last one. We live in a log cabin, but not such huge fabulous logs as this one.

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  12. I can see why you're a fan! His works are so satisfying!

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  13. Just wonderful! Thank you for introducing me to this remarkable artist, about whom I knew nothing until reading this post. His work is fantastic, and I want to live in that cabin!

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  14. Robyn, hello...
    je viens de me faire une belle promenade dans votre univers. J'apprécie votre poesie, naturel, fraicheur, originalité et evidemment aussi votre art...
    tout comme la presentation de voter blog qui incite d'en faire le voyage...
    merci aussi de faire decouvrir Robert Slingsby...c un precieux temoignage, merci je ne connais pas.
    Bonne continuation dans votre créativité
    sarah-coincidence

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