MIRAGE is a proposed public artwork selected as one of the finalist project for the Social Impact Arts Prize 2020, an arts competition initiated by the Rupert Foundation to create social transformation in the town of Graaff-Reinet through art.
The project seeks to evoke an ancient landscape in contemporary Graaff-Reinet through the medium of sculpture and artificial light.
The paleontological findings in the area around Graaff-Reinet have had significant influence on our understanding of the origins of life. 270 million years ago this region was a water rich, swampy wetland, teeming with Synapsids (the forerunners of mammals). In stark contrast, contemporary Graaff-Reinet is becoming more and more water scarce as a result of desertification – a symptom of climate change. The aim of the installation is to connect people to that ancient history by creating a series of floating glass Permian ponds. The ponds float above surface level, detached from the earth, as if the layers of time are rearranged, allowing the viewer to experience a re-enactment of the past. The idea is to create the experience of water without using water, like a mirage that is seen in the distance eliciting hope and renewed energy. The intention is to create a publically accessible gathering space that will conjure these feelings – a contemplative space where the medium of glass and light interact in a captivating way, leaving a visitor with a sense of renewal and calm. A sanctuary of light in the Karoo. Reinstating Graaff-Reinet as an oasis.
Water, through time, has been used as a means of transcendence – reflection pools, grottos and the like. This project aims to create a gathering space through the illusion of water, fostering social cohesion in the town of Graaff Reinet. The connection to an ancient past transcends our everyday struggles and allows people to recognize the humanity in each other, as inhabitants of the same planet with the same shared ancestors.
