Eastern Cape Echoes
Timed Online Auction, 2 - 15 July 2025
Eastern Cape Echoes: Selected Works from Tsitsikamma to Lusikisiki
About the SessionEastern Cape Echoes: Selected Works from Tsitsikamma to Lusikisiki brings together a selection of artworks by artists who either originate from, live in, or draw inspiration from the Eastern Cape – a region where storytelling takes root in fertile ground. Included in the sale is a diverse offering of paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints, inspired by the dramatic coastline, lush forests, and rich biodiversity that define the Eastern Cape. The sale features five remarkable carvings by Julius Mfethe, depicting country scenes with human figures and animals. Born in Port St Johns, Mfethe sourced his own wood and developed his tools to produce these meticulously crafted sculptures. Coming from a long line of talented craftsmen and women – his father and two brothers were specialist grass weavers – Mfethe imbued his works with rich storytelling and craftsmanship. Other highlights include Market on a Waterway by Walter Battiss, a colourful oil painting inspired by his travels to Central Africa, and Figures above a Waterfall, a work that places emphasis on space and proportion, reflecting Battiss’ engagement with graphic design language and elements. Another key highlight is George Pemba’s rendering of the Arthur Wellington Church in New Brighton. Executed in an acrylic medium, the work exemplifies Pemba’s masterful use of colour. A large contingent of colourful works by Brian Bradshaw, Jennifer Crooks, Michael Hallier, Walter Meyer, Penny Siopis, Simon Stone and Obie Oberholzer bring further vibrancy to this annual offering. The sale concludes with quirky ceramic works by Calitzdorp artist-potter, Hylton Nel, who studied at Rhodes University and later taught ceramics, ceramic history, and drawing at Port Elizabeth Technikon.
About this Item
signed and dated
Notes
“During the 1960s, the cosmopolitan neighbourhood of South End in Port Elizabeth was demolished under the Group Areas Act. Sprawling up the Baakens Valley from the harbour, South End was a wonderful mix of people, life, work and buildings. Living in close proximity, it was part of the Podlashuc's everyday life, until it was not. It was where they shopped, went out to eat, haggled with smouse for mackerel, bought tea and cigarettes, sticky sweets wrapped in rice paper, tins of paraffin.
Then came the violence of eviction – scattering its inhabitants. Even before the last truck – precariously packed with people and their earthly possessions, and well before the last police car had left – teams of avaricious men were already busy seizing materials before the bulldozers arrived. And then, mosques, churches, Hindu temples, schools, corner shops, workshops and hundreds of homes that dated from the early settler days were crushed into rubble.”—Leopold Podlashuc, 2025
Provenance
The Podlashuc Collection.