TRACES OF TIME

The inevitability of the future, as is the assuredness of a past, is a constant reminder of the existence of time and regardless of our desire or attempts, it is constantly progressing with a measured momentum in spite of all of us.

Inspiration is drawn from the movement of the hour hand, the passing of the seasons, the annual cherry blossoms, the perennial peonies, morning rush hour and bedtime stories.

The constant ebb and flow of time delivers age upon our shores. We live within time, but rather than remain in the present, the future calls and our response: to chase and hurry it. Inevitably, it catches up with us and in the end we look back, longingly, for the time gone by.

Hours are monetized and all must be accounted for, “time is money” the saying goes, in truth the value of time is increasingly diminished by our anxiety to use it profitably. Everybody everywhere seems to be busy, the busier one is, the busier one gets. Rushing from one meeting to the next, reminders and alarms set off by the gadgets we employ, only to find the technologies we created controlling our attentions and creating new obsessions, digitising our thoughts and memories.

And then there is the cruel sadness of our humanness, that which controls and imposes our will on those who merely exist. The rhino would be oblivious if it roamed in this century or the next and the mighty elephant traverse ageless forests and bush forever. Other than for an untimely end brought about by our greed and desires.

As absolute and unbroken is the continuity of time, there is always a beginning and an end. We may accumulate wealth, friends and possessions without limitation but the time to spend, experience and enjoy them is finite.

As the little girl blows on the head of the dandelion, puffs of its white flower is taken by the wind. Known as the the dandelion clock, the number of puffs it takes to release the flower from the head, is supposed to tell the time. But for her innocent soul, there is no concern for the cost and limitations of time, only the pure joy of watching the dandelion clock dance in the sky.

This exhibition is held at ABÉ OPPERMAN Cape Town gallery and open for public from  28/02/2016.