Artist sheds light on environmental concerns through exhibition

An exhibition by acclaimed Johannesburg artist John Moore has opened at the In Toto Gallery in Illovo and will run until January.

The exhibition, titled Etchings, features 60 extraordinary pieces by Moore, from small 10cm x 15cm pieces to huge 2m x 1m works.

The central theme running through the show is the artist’s environmental concerns.

Waiting for the tide to turn.

Moore said: “We as humans are ever-growing, exploiting and pushing nature out of her natural zones as we expand, threatening the fauna and flora of this planet. We need to change our ways or we will face considerable issues in the near future.”

Moore said he got his inspiration from “the magic of the moment, of being present and witnessing the beauty of nature”, but also from looking at how species are attracted to each other, often forming codependent relationships.

Moore’s work takes many hours to create due to its complexity and also because the artist uses age-old techniques and processes invented in Rembrandt’s time to make sure each print is created to last over 500 years.

Walking with Pride.

Some of the larger works have taken Moore eight months or more per piece to complete.

“Let’s hope the animals depicted in them last even longer,” he said.

Moore hoped visitors to the exhibition would look at the play of light and form, the relationship of the objects on the picture plane and observe the detail in the work

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