Return to art with Cradlestone Mall exhibit

 The Cradlestone Mall art exhibit returned for the first time this year on April 2 and 3. It showcased works by local painters in different mediums – from surrealistic to contemporary works.

“It feels really good to be back. It is nice to be back into the art itself since November. We have six artists here including a mouth artist. Many of the surrealistic works by Joe Joubert have a lot of meaning to it if you look at what it depicts and symbolises. We have many interesting works here this weekend,” said Susan Allin, curator of the Msanzi Art Gallery.

Jacobus Mans, a mouth artist who showed his impressive abilities on the day said he began painting with his mouth after a spinal cord injury. “After my injury we started visiting some venues for quadriplegics and I saw other people painting with their mouths or feet. I couldn’t even draw so I thought painting was not for me, but there was a man who challenged me. He told me to make five paintings and he would help me. About four later, I went to his house and showed him what I had done and he could not believe what I had painted. The next year, I was a student at The Mouth and Foot Painters. Many of my paintings are old-school, and some have gone to Switzerland.”

Other artists in attendance included Elsa Schultz, Susan, and Sannelé Esterhuizen.