“The Stones Speak, The Moss Whispers” is an exhibition and outdoor event in Wilderness that includes a performance, poetry, an educational talk and a tree planting ceremony to (re)connect people to the inherent wisdom of nature. 

The exhibition will be on show from 13-27 April 2023 at Ninette Steyl gallery (also known as Gallery on the Square) at Palm Square in George Road, Wilderness. Join for the opening at 18:00 on 13 April, for a nature art experience on 16 April, and on Earth Day, 22 April 2023, join Corné Brink of Kaëlvoet Consulting & artist Janet Botes for planting a tree, poetry, and learning about our beautiful area’s ecology. The tree we plant forms part of an ongoing rescue and rehabilitation project between George Municipality, Ruwacon, Cape EA Prac and Kaëlvoet Consulting to rescue indigenous tree species from the Medi-Clinic development site and replant them for conservation and tourism. 

Using art, poetry and symbolic action to inspire, raise questions about the way we live our lives, and evoke an emotional response, the exhibition and event is designed to be an experience that reconnects visitors to nature, grounds them into the present moment, and presents a different perspective about the world. The art, poetry & performance by Janet Botes is inspired by our place within the web of life and messages we can all receive from the natural world. We are part of nature, we are nature. There are memories, knowledge and wisdom in the stones, trees, sand, moss and on the wind. When we learn to tap into this – through the stories of elders, or intuitively with our own body – we discover a new tool, a new way of being, a new perspective. Which can lead to a tangible and visceral understanding of our place within the world.

The production of the art and the printing of the catalogue is funded by the African Culture Fund (Fonds Africain pour la Culture). The African Culture Fund is an initiative that defends a continent’s desire to write new narratives and take its rightful place on the world stage through the voice of its unique culture. The Fund aims to contribute to the writing and the establishment of new narratives of positive social change in Africa through innovative projects that it finances.

Janet Botes is an artist and project coordinator with a passion for using art to inspire and uplift; supporting and protecting healthy ecosystems; and using creativity to bring people together around common interests. 

For more information visit whispers.janetbotes.co.za

“…feel, listen and look deeper.within ourselves, and at everything around us.”