Notes

Beachcombing

Strolling on the littered beach
his was the eye that would search
for retrievable things,
above the tidal reach,
appealing to curiosity, childish ideas and taste.
Collecting, flotsam on the way,
thinking aloud, occasionally he'd say to us,
"I'll take this and this. . . and that. . ."
He'd pick up driftwood to carve
or knock together.
Often he'd find a need for every piece,
fishbone, feather, plant and weed.
"It needn't go to waste."
He'd pick up bits of metal and later
flatten folds and creases
then cut and purposefully
put together different pieces
with carefully placed nails
and lengths of measured wire and wood.
So inventive,
able to improvise easily
he received his buddies' admiration.
It was good to see
the ingenious way his mind functioned
and the slender hands give shape
to things.
Had later times been right,
would that he had tried
to reach the sky.
- Peter Clarke¹

In his poem, Beachcombing, the artist/poet talks about himself in the third person. He is observing himself on the beach, searching for things that the waves have washed up. It is easy to imagine the scene depicted in the present lot as one viewed upon Clarke's frequent beach walks.

^1. B Commin (2014) Peter Clarke, South African Artist and Poet 1929 - 2014, online, https://bobcommin.blog/2023/07/09/peter-clarke-south-african-artist-and-poet-1929-2014/, accessed 25 January 2024.

Provenance

Acquired directly from the artist by the current owner's father.

The DinksFãStan Private Collection, United Kingdom.