October 03, 2022 - December 02, 2022
ESCAP3 Gallery is delighted to present our 8th Virtual Group Exhibition: 'Beauty Is A Savage Garden' (03 October - 02 December 2022).
Participating Artists Include: Andy Kassier (Germany); Jean Luc Gossé (Cote d’Ivoire); Ardmore, Tanisha Bhana, Adriaan Diedericks, Daniël Hugo, Mandibles & Natasha Norman (South Africa).
“In spite of all the refinements of civilization that conspired to make art--the dizzying perfection of the string quartet or the sprawling grandeur of Fragonard's canvases--beauty was savage. It was as dangerous and lawless as the earth had been eons before man had one single coherent thought in his head or wrote codes of conduct on tablets of clay. Beauty was a Savage Garden.” [1]
The title of our 8th group exhibition is derived from an excerpt in the second novel written by late American fiction author, Anne Rice (1941-2021). First mentioned in 'The Vampire Lestat', the concept of a 'Savage Garden' is referenced to by Rice several times throughout 'The Vampire Chronicles' Series as a philosophy of life.
Rice’s use of the 'Savage Garden' in her works could serve as a reference to Nihilism, a concept which emerged during the Enlightenment, derived from the Latin 'nihil', meaning 'nothing' or 'nothingness'. Throughout her work and life, Rice questioned the meaning of life, and seemed to have found momentary solace in accepting the perceived futility of such endeavours, which could foster obsession, fanaticism or even complacency. The 'Savage Garden' however also envisions a constant wild running cyclically, which we cannot fully comprehend.
This exhibition celebrates each artists’ own path towards finding meaning and solace as well as their tenacious spirit to create or preserve in an on-going shared fragile existence. We are reminded through this collection of works to embrace mortality, and that time has no master. Whether by chance or fate, time remains the only constant in a world unknown. Despite our notion of being civil or even perhaps somehow divorced from the primal forces that govern all, we forget to celebrate the beauty of chaos, that is. The works thus become a reflection of time spent, traversing a 'Savage Garden', with the caution, wonder and appreciation it commands.
'Eternity'
“He who binds himself to joy
Does the winged life destroy
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise.” [2]
References
[1] Rice, A. 1985. 'The Vampire Lestat'.
[2] Blake, W. 'Eternity', From 'Notebook 43', p. 105, reversed.
Image Credit: Jean Luc Gossé l 'Apophys (Great Water Dragon)' l 2020 l Edition of 10 l Digital Print on Archival paper l 130 x 170 cm
