The Dreams Come Close to Home Exhibition was held at Two By Two Art Studio in Newtown.
Initiated by three South African artists, the exhibition focused on their road trip to Cape Town, where they rediscovered South Africa’s landscape through public art and service.
The tour started in Johannesburg and made stops in Jeffrey’s Bay, Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown, Transkei and Cape Town.
Painter, Lisolomzi Pikoli, illustrator and muralist, Skumbuzo Vabazi and photographer, Karabo Mooki took on the project to document South Africa’s environment and culture. Each town they passed through offered a public wall for an outside mural. They worked with two day deadlines and were on the road for 15 days.
Pikoli discovered these places with “new eyes” and enjoyed creating art in a different setting. “They have always been there, but were overlooked,” said Pikoli.
The trio were well-received by the towns they visited and were hosted like family. According to Mooki, the experience reconnected the artists with their roots, families and origins. He documented “Africa as a whole with a positive outlook”.
Vabazi experienced a ‘tribal connection to the land”. He said, “In every part of the country, the people are different. I noticed the contrast of the different realities we passed by. There is a driving force to beautify our environment,” said Vabazi.
He said they planned to explore more of the country in the future.
