Hear the lament of the last Knysna Elephant
“I had to remove myself from the sadness and accept the fact that it is the last elephant, to complete the work.
I will never do anything like this again,” says an emotionally worn Guy Thesen about his exhibition Lament for the last Knysna Elephant. A 45-year-old female elephant – said to be the only wild elephant left in the Southern Cape’s indigenous forest – was the seed for Guy’s exhibition. It is said that when the last elephant has gone so has the repository and wisdom of centuries.
“We should all grieve not only for her and her species but for us and our planet and for what we have lost forever, due to our utter indifferences as much as to our deliberate violence,” he says.
Guy welcomes Knysna-Plett Herald with open arms when we visit his studio in Old Belvidere to speak about his upcoming exhibition.
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“I am in your hands. Make yourself at home,” he says.
An artist’s dream space
Overlooking the lagoon, the studio features perfect light, plenty of practical workspaces with pieces and projects in several stages of completion competing for the artist’s attention. Space – which boasts an awe-inspiring amount of water-based acrylic paint in every colour, materials and tools all in organised chaos – is any artist’s dream.
Guy does not take his talent and work for granted but regards it as a serious responsibility to be honest, follow instinct and remain professional. He deems himself extremely fortunate to be able to work in his studio every day. “Art allows you to deal with your pain objectively through layers, symbolism and dual meaning,” says the artist who has been painting full-time for the past 10 years.
The meaning of colour
Colour is important to this artist who practises yoga, and all the hues of the chakra system reflect in his work.
“Colours have meaning and I use the meaning of colours as emotional symbols. That is why there is more of a pastel palette in Lament and no loud colours – like bright red – in any of the works. The colours I used also connect with my character now. I am not young and angry anymore but more accepting of tragedy and beautiful things. I used a lot of white tints to achieve the palette,” volunteers Guy.
He dates each of his carving tools to know which is sharpest. He regards his graphic colour chart or palette as an artist’s dictionary.
When he gets an idea he starts by doodling on a small piece of paper which eventually becomes the illustration for the bigger art piece.
A remarkable encounter
Guy’s ancestors arrived in Knysna in 1870 and formed part of the town’s founding fathers. They were on their way to New Zealand and decided to get timber from the forest. “Oom Arnt Thesen came through the heads on the Albatross and when he saw Knysna he said, ‘This is where we shall stay’ and we have been here ever since. I am still here, so is my sister and cousin.”
Because he has lived in Knysna all his life, he has always been aware of the elephants. For this reason and also for Lament, it could not be more befitting that he saw a wild elephant in the forest when he was only a child. “It was a three-second experience I will never forget. I was nine years old. My dad said, ‘An elephant has been spotted close by and we should take a drive and go check’. We took our green Ford Fairlane with red seats into the Brackenhill forest at night. An elephant appeared in the road and looked at us. It then just continued to walk over the road and disappeared into the night. My dad even got out of the car and ran after the elephant,” recalls Guy.
Seeping with symbolism
Lament consists of 20 stylised, painted woodcarvings completed over the past six months. Each piece is similar in size and starts with a plain, flat 12mm sheet of medium-density fibreboard better-known as SupaWood. “Then it just takes time and repetition to carve the grooves,” says Guy who studied graphic design.
He makes it sound simple but upon close inspection, it is clear that each stroke – of chisel and paintbrush – is done purposefully and precise. It took him about one week to complete each striking piece.
A symbol of humanity
“Lament is about perspective and a symbol of humanity, our human condition. We come into this world alone and we leave alone,” he explains.
The names attributed to each piece are not just elephant talk but are also words that relate to humans like Birth, Unheard, Persecution, Dreaming and Loneliness.
When looking at Persecution the elephant seems trapped behind jail bars, behind lines of yellow and blue which together make green to symbolise the forest. Things like progress, guns and humans dart out at the elephant from the left side. The piece Unheard depicts a single elephant’s footprints and how she is all alone in the forest, calling for help but no one hears.
There is such a clear identification with the subject of his work that long after the last elephant’s demise, its memory will live on through Guy’s lament.
Lament for the last Knysna Elephant opens at Knysna Fine Art Gallery on Thursday 10 October at 18:00 and will run for three weeks.
Because he has lived in Knysna all his life, he has always been aware of the elephants.
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Source: Knysna Plett Herald News