The night skies will again be lit up by spectacular art pieces during the annual Spier Light Art exhibition from Friday 1 March to Monday 1 April.
The sixth edition of the display will see 21 different light and video artworks installed across the historic Stellenbosch farm. Visitors must arrive just before the sunset to enjoy an outdoor feast of food and wine under the summer sky. As the stars come out, the lights will be turned on.
Art is a big deal at Spier; for a start, it exhibits one of the largest contemporary art collections in the country, but it also invests a lot of time and energy into making art accessible to as many people as possible. That’s why this annual light art experience, supported by the Swiss Arts Council, Pro Helvetia Johannesburg and Fedex, offers free admission, with the aim being to celebrate artists and their creations, and to offer every visitor a unique interaction with inspiring artworks.
There’s a popular opinion that art holds up a mirror to society and it reflects what is happening in the world. This is certainly true of the work featured at Spier Light Art 2024.
The artists each grapple with big themes and challenges in the modern world, such as environmental disasters and climate change, how technology dominates our lives, the effects of racism and colonialism, gender identities, and how humans make sense of life.
Despite the weight of these ideas, the artists create in a way that invites lightness, interaction and introspection. Sometimes you will laugh, sometimes you will sigh, but you will always think and wonder.
Curators Vaughn Sadie and Jay Pather promise visitors to the farm yet another bold, bright and beautiful art experience. “These works combine wonder, participation and thought,” Sadie said. “This exhibition of Light Art is a space for celebration, offering moments of escape and fantasy, and moments when we may touch sides with the world outside, lest indeed, we fall completely asleep.”
The lights and colours will awaken guests’ senses. You may happen upon a mesmerising, colourful network of fungi in Stevie Thompson’s Mycelium or be faced with the blurry lines between relaxation and inattention in Alan Alborough’s sculptural ZZZZ.
You may encounter Abri de Swardt’s Flood Light or Naadira Patel and Sarah de Villiers’ Assembling Lines, and wonder how we can save our planet from humanity’s excess and short-sightedness.
Whichever artwork you encounter you will be engaged and entertained in South Africa’s one-of-a-kind art experience. Visitors are encouraged to wear comfy walking shoes.
A sunset picnic may be pre-booked and the farm’s eateries are open until 21:00. For more information, visit www.spier.co.za.
