The first art exhibition to come to SciFest Africa is opening tomorrow evening at 5pm at the Albany Museum, and blends together superstition, art and science in awe-inspiring ways.
The first art exhibition to come to SciFest Africa is opening tomorrow evening at 5pm at the Albany Museum, and blends together superstition, art and science in awe-inspiring ways.
Local artist Nigel Mullins has painted the arts into Scifest Africa this year with his complex exhibition, Chaotic Region. It explores superstition, science and art in a way that delights both the artistically and scientifically inclined of all ages.
Mullins, a Rhodes University Fine Arts graduate, adds a refreshing touch to the festival with exquisite oil paintings accompanied by a video piece that seek to explore the relationship of belief systems, superstitions and scientific knowledge.
With his carefully and professionally curated layout, Mullins serves up a feast for the eyes which will leave you lost in space.
Tagging along for an art walkabout with the Kingswood College Grade 2s, I heard about Mullins inspiration and his interpretations of the paintings.
The exhibit is named for a work representing the fleshy composition of the inside of his head.
Besides nature, he features scientific landmarks from Neil Armstrong’s moon landing to the launch of the first space rocket, to Laika, the first dog catapulted into space by the Russians.
“I’m trying to weave superstition, science and art in a playful way,” he told Grocott’s Mail.
One of the ways he does this is by allowing the paint to spread onto the picture frames, making the artwork appear as an object as opposed to just a framed painting.
Although it is very much a fine art exhibition, Mullins exposes the children to paintings, their meanings and different ways of interpreting them.
“I’ve worked in diverse styles, so you will really get a feel for what painting could be,” Mullins said. “Chaotic Region” allows kids of all ages to see and explore science in a completely new and different way.
Children especially loved his naturalistic rendering of a tiger.
“It makes me want to be an artist!” Luke Claassens said of the exhibit.
“Chaotic Region” is open daily at the Albany History Museum from 9am-5pm. Mullins leads an art walkabout for the general public and as well as schools daily at 10.30am.
