The designers Andreas Betzold & Patrizia Litty are presenting their latest collaboration, ODA | objekt.design.art, in Franschhoek with a group exhibition titled ‘Homer Sapiens: From Animal to Superhuman’; a surprising twist on the concept of ‘homo sapiens’ that is set to create a stir in the South African art scene.
‘Homer Sapiens: From Animal to Superhuman’ is comprised of provocative figurative work & contemporary portraiture by well-known artists as well as emerging talent from South Africa, Kenya & Madagascar.
The exhibition theme draws partly on the book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by scientist Yuval Noah Harari, who investigates human evolution from animal to superhuman and implies that our surprising rise to the top of the food chain relies largely on our ability to create myths – reaching from the creation of ancient religions to the cyberspace corporations of the future.
Homer, the mysterious Greek epic poet credited with the enduring epic tales of The Iliad and The Odyssey – where humans behave like Gods and Gods behave like humans – adds another component to the exhibition topic as the impact of these tales continue to reverberate through Western culture and form an important base for our present day aesthetics.
‘Homer Sapiens’ combines 15 artists to yet another fictive group of human beings, exploring our bare, physical existence as well as the “myth” that forms the basis of our status quo. Even if not genetically anchored, this feature took homo sapiens from just another animal 700,000 years ago to today’s ‘super humans,’ who are largely in control of the planet.
The exhibition opens at 10:30am at ODA | objekt.design.art on the 15th of August with a very “Franschhoek style” vernissage catering for all human senses, incorporating delicious finger foods by Red Pepper as well as a fabulous wine tasting by the Black Elephant Vintners, Franschhoek.
The exhibition will close 27 September 2015.
Opening times: Mon to Sat 9:30 to 17:00 & Sun 09:30 to 16:00
Participating artists: Brett Williams, Stanislaw Trzebinski, Jean Jacques Teiten, Isobel O’Connor, Hermien v/d Merwe, Benon Lutaaya, Patrizia Litty, Grace Kotze, Dane Knudsen, Helena Hugo, Daya Heller, Gerrit Burger
Address & contact:
Patrizia Litty
ODA | objekt.design.art
42 Huguenot Street (main road)
Franschhoek, 7690
+27 (0) 837743603
