Peter Engelbreght
Lured by the embracing mystery, prehistoric essence and mythological echoes of the Klein Karoo landscape, I escaped from the corporate environment of Pretoria to settle in the Moerasriver Valley of the Oudtshoorn district, from where I am inspired to create sculptures predominantly constructed from natural elements collected in the field and discarded metal objects- fencing etc.
My artwork is primarily for my own selfish pleasure, allowing me uninhibited expression. If the work is appealing to the viewer then it is an added reward. It is not always initially the intention for my work to be perceived to have some profound philosophical substance, however it does evolve as the work progresses in it’s natural and practical process.
Over the past few years I had to realign my creative process from the more practical and functional approach of architecture, to producing images that convey to the viewer that which I perceive from the inspiration emanating from Karoo myth and the visual and physical interaction with nature.
The intention is to create aesthetic objects that emulate and imitate familiar stances/postures which inherently reflect patterns and order of the natural world. It is a final attempt to display and assign these natural primitive elements to new functions without being too animated, on their inevitable journey before being absorbed back into nature.
The effigies and implements of thought can be interpreted as visual murmurings of a giving nature towards it’s caretaker, presented as visual echo`s of the prehistoric spirit of the appeasing mother.
