The Cape Gallery Presents The Annual Winter Solstice Exhibition

The Winter solstice in Cape Town is a contemplative time. The sun is in recess, and the city is frequently beset by fickle storms and creeping fog. It is a time to stay inside, to allow ideas to germinate under the surface of the mind, like plants in hibernation, waiting for us to be overcome with the desire to allow them to bloom. Perhaps it is when our mind wanders, or we lie sleeping our true desires are able to emerge.

Leon de Bliquy’s lucid stone lithographs

The Cape Gallery presents the Annual Winter Solstice Exhibition, which has been extended until 14 August 2021.

Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung believed that desire and residual memories lodged in the subconscious mind surface in dreams. Jung noticed archetypal consistencies in the symbolic content of the dreams. When analyzed, these lead him to believe in a collective subconsciousness. He took an interest in myths and folk tales. Myths and dreams can challenge a logical interpretation. And so do the paintings of the surrealists’ painters.

Lux Aeterna – Simon Jones

Errant Spirit

Rachelle Bomberg describes what motivated her to paint ‘Errant Spirit’ as an impulse “to fly, to explore… even recklessly as the energy to move forward and overcome fear gains precedence.’ Describing herself as “Wanderer, restless seeking to break from the imposed restrictions on freedom (albeit for our own good!)” she adds: “l had no idea that this work created in 2016, would gain even more significance due to Covid. Personally, l have a tendency to not settle too long easily. Possibly this is shared with many now as we, humans, can no longer endure the stifling of the present on our errant creative souls. Our choice…how to move onwards out of this.”

Myths and Daydreams

Margot Hattingh is one of the artists in this exhibition who embraces the idea of exploring one’s own psyche through myths and daydreams.

Hattingh states that “On the surface, the artworks may seem to range from highly realistic/figurative to abstract, but beneath that, they are all concerned with recording my explorations of an ever-changing perception of reality – physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and of course mythical.” Myths have always been a way to explore things that we do not understand. Furthermore it is a way to expose the unconscious desires of our collective consciousness.

Many of the artists in Desire toy with this interpretation of myth and subconscious desire. This has lead to a collection of works that truly challenge the mind and the soul.