Encounters with an elephant skull

Central to the exhibition is Thom’s ongoing investigation of his own encounter with the skull of an African elephant.

“The exhibition is divided into three bodies of work: etchings, drawings and sculpture,” said the gallery’s Neil Nieuwoudt.

“Over [a] period of eight months, Thom produced a set of five large-scale etchings in collaboration with Willem Boshoff, Diane Victor, David Koloane and Bevan de Wet.”

Each artist was asked to create an aesthetic response to the skull.

“Thom would first work on the plate by… making a full body print or scratching the plate’s surface with the elephant skull,” he said.

Thereafter, the plates were given to the collaborating artists to work over and layer by adding marks and conceptual or visual elements, based on their encounters with the skull.

“The exhibition includes a set of charcoal and mixed media drawings that remind [one] of Rorschach patterns,” he said.

“These observational drawings appear almost ghost-like in their rendering of the three-dimensional shape of the skull in shades of white upon blotches of ordinary blackboard paint.”

A bronze and mixed media sculpture produced in collaboration with Guy du Toit will also form part of the exhibition.

Johan Thom: New works from the Animal Series, 2013 – 2014, will be at Nirox Projects, 264 Fox Street, Arts on Main, Maboneng Precinct, from 16 February until 9 March.

Details: 072 350 4326; www.niroxarts.com