Page 8 - Landscape SA 104

FEATURE

Avis tarda

A NEW VENTURE

Sonja Swanepoel is a landscape architect who started her company, African
Environmental Design, in 1997. She recently branched out into sculpture and sees the
two professions as ‘informing and complementing each other.’ She says she will always
be a landscape architect, but sculpting is her current focus.

he graduated from the University come from the same awareness. Through Her first large-scale sculpture can be
of Pretoria and during her 25 years my sculpture, I convey a message of hope viewed at the Everard Read Gallery in
Sin the profession, has won many and beauty, not disparity, as I believe Rosebank, Johannesburg, and in this series
awards for her design work, embracing an humanity needs it more. Like music, my of works, she explores man’s relationship
approach that is sensitive to the context sculpture does not mimic or replicate with birds, their ancient history and their
of the site. Site specific solutions are nature but uses aspects of it to evoke an role in our fragile ecosystem. Due to
at the core of all designs and bring an emotional response and enable the viewer habitat degradation, thousands of bird
ecological aesthetic to all her projects. In to perceive the essential component of the species are becoming extinct each year
most cases, she is inspired by landscapes work in isolation - be it form, line, colour and she wants her sculptures to create
that are uniquely African or site-specific. or light”. awareness of this fact, as well as of man’s
The use of biome-specific species and a ‘fragile existence on this planet’.
preference for natural landscapes with a “My current sculptures are biomorphic
strong underlying structure have earned with soft, round sensuous shapes. They “The bird sculptures are delicately
her acclaim. have a tactile quality that is organic balanced, and just like our natural
and almost bone-like. I combine round ecology is balanced, they can be viewed
In response to a few questions from organic shapes with strong lines. Some from multiple angles; their sometimes
Landscape SA about her new venture, are like puzzle pieces fitting together to smooth reflective texture serves as a
Swanepoel said: “To me our natural form a whole. Qualities such as lightness mirror reflecting our own image back to
world remains the most relevant topic to and movement are important to convey. us, as we always tend to believe we are
comment on as an artist and landscape I’m fascinated with light, reflection and not personally responsible for this loss/
architect. I would love to see my sculptures shadows and on how they can make a destruction in our natural world but
in any well-designed landscape if the sculpture more alive and dynamic. Most of always blame it on others. The delicate,
opportunity arises.” my sculptures have a 3D quality in that you fine quality of the sculptures reinforces the
can place them whichever way you want idea of how fragile our ecosystems are."
“I became an artist and started sculpting as there is no specific top or bottom. They
only five years ago; sculpture and are mono-chromatic in order to emphasise Swanepoel’s large-scale sculptures are
landscape feed on each other as they form, line and light.” light (300kg), considering their size of

6 Landscape SA • Issue 104 2021