Main Gallery

Carl Jeppe

15 to 31 October 2020

The well known Pretoria artist, Carl Jeppe’s drawings and paintings on this exhibition is the result of two “lost years.”  In 2019 he was flattened by a case of shingles that put him out of action for four months.  2020 of course was, and still is, the year of the virus.
 
“Without exception, I feel sure, everyone in every corner of the planet got a little closer to confronting the reality of their mortality.  In my latest work I look at cracks opening in the fabric of the earth.  They are perhaps metaphors for the cracks in society.  The cracks, crevices and fissures in my work demonstrate that, from an international perspective right down to personal relationships, we are often on shaky ground.”
 
While growing up, Jeppe often went on archaeological ‘digs’ with his family and it still holds a fascination for him.  ”In my most recent drawings I’ve been discovering ruins and secret places of my own that could easily be that those ancient peoples were actually just like us.  They fell in love, had families, built shelters, faced danger and hardships as well as happy and prosperous times.”
 
“Strangely enough, there are no people or animals or plants in my landscapes.  They might just as well be on another planet.  They might be on earth as well, an earth that has been plundered and desiccated and abandoned by its human residents, who’s only job on earth was to survive and prosper, but who didn’t pay much attention to the job description.”