UNDER WATER WORLD - Don Albert
EXHIBITION GUIDE
Artwork availabe at the show - is in orange
Artwork available on request is labeled "A.O.R" please enquire about those if you are interested.
To enquire about any artwork please click on the image name.
ROOM 1 - Stairwell & Reception
3
Madame du Barry Reflects - 2023
1550x1000 oil on canvas - R65,000 incl. VAT
In August of 2020, Don travelled to Kangaroo Island in South Australia to write a story on the island's recovery from the devastation of the summer's bushfires of 2019~2020, Australia's worst on record.
Don was surprised to find the rigorous man-made plantations of eucalyptus trees on the island bouncing back to life whereas the natural landscape was still struggling almost 9 months later.
Madame du Barry [1743-1793] -- King Louis IV's official mistress -- was an astute political animal and patron of the arts and architecture. Her commissioning of revolutionary architect Claude-Nicholas Ledoux's Salt Works project was an influential work of architecture that introduced a more mechanistic, controlling role for architecture into society.
Madame Du Barry, whose avarice and social climbing is the stuff of legend and Hollywood movies, becomes a symbol for all us, reflecting on the damage that humanity has brought upon the planet since the Age of Enlightenment.
5
The Moral Law Within Me - 2023
1550x1000 oil on canvas - R55,000 incl. VAT
The Australian summer bushfires of 2019~2020 became a turning point in many people's minds that climate change was not an abstract notion that may happen in the future but in fact something that is happening right now.
On the 23rd of January 2020 Don travelled to the South Coast of New South Wales in Australia to research a story on the bushfire recovery at Cobargo after the worst bushfires on record in Australia took hundreds of lives and thousands of homes were lost. An estimated 3 billion animals died, and millions of hectares were raised.
During Don's trip he was forced off the road by a bushfire in the Turros Heads area and forced to sleep the night in the boot of his car at the beach because the emergency evacuation shelter was full. This painting is a vision Don had while standing on that beach looking at a slim horizon of light from under a red sky which he imagined to be like of one of Etienne Boullée's sublime utopian public buildings as the cage of atomised carbon that suffocates us all.
"The starry heavens above me, The moral law within me"
Emmanuel Kant, [1724-1804]
83
The Persistence of Memory - 2023
500x500 limited edition of 10 archival print on metal- R3,800 incl. VAT [A.0.R.]
2
Submersible One - 2023
800x800 limited edition of 10 archival prints on canvas R5,500 incl. VAT
Within Oshin-Haven's Eastern Reef,
Lies the Grotto, a place beyond belief,
Sacred and mysterious, a spiritual relief.
Whispers speak of the Heart of the Ocean,
An ancient force, a potent devotion,
Power to control the tides in motion.
Guarded by the enigmatic sea's embrace,
The Guardian of the Grotto, an ancient face,
Judging those who seek the Heart's grace.
Posthuman explorers ventured within,
Yearning for dominance, a desire to win,
But the Guardian's might, caused their chagrin.
Fierce clashes echoed within the Grotto's hold,
Intruders met resistance, brave and bold,
For the Guardian's protection, unswayed and untold.
Defeated, the explorers fled from the scene,
Empty-handed, their dreams crushed and lean,
An ill-fated quest, a lesson unforeseen.
4
Submersible Two - 2023
800x800 limited edition of 4 archival prints on canvas R6,000 incl. VAT
News of the failed expedition spread wide,
Debates erupted, passions alongside,
Controlling the ocean, ethics to abide.
Many posthumans stood against the desire,
To disturb the ocean, to control its fire,
Aware of the consequences dire.
Yet, the Grotto remains a sacred ground,
Seekers of guidance, lost souls are found,
A connection to the ocean profound.
For some, the Guardian holds wisdom untold,
Unveiling secrets of the ocean's stronghold,
The Heart of the Ocean, just one tale of old.
In Oshin-Haven, the Grotto's allure,
An enigma that endures,
A testament to the ocean's pure.
7
Blend One - 2023
500x500 limited edition of 3 archival prints on metal R3,800 incl. VAT [Also available on paper. SQ]
84
You Can't Take It With You - 2023
1000x1000 limited edition of 10 archival prints on paper- R5000 incl. VAT [A.0.R.] - Also available on white metal if preferred.
9
Sariel-Deva - 2023
500x500 limited edition of 3 archival prints on metal R3,800 incl. VAT [Also available on paper. SQ]
Sariel-Deva's light,
Refractive pearls shimmer,
AI's vibrant insight.
1
Amina - 2023
1300x1300 Limited Edition archival print on canvas R22,000 incl. VAT
From the depths emerged Amina, resolute and strong,
A lava-resistant cephalopod, AI hybrid all along.
With her warriors by her side, a united force,
They rescued the city, charting a new course.
86
Microplastic - 2023
800x800 limited edition of 10 archival print on canvas R5,500 incl. VAT [A.0.R.] - Also available on archival paper if preferred. S.Q.
