The Good Machine brought together a limited collection of ocean and spirit inspired artists on 12 and 13 February 2022. They have managed to transform a beautiful home overlooking the magnificent coastline of Kalkbay into a state of the art exhibition hall for three amazing artists to come together. All the works were for sale to support the Sea Change Project in their mission to protect the Great African Sea Forest
Robert Rorich expresses his deep love for all that is alive in his sculptures and brought tangible joyous energy to the exhibition (https://www.robertrorich.com/). Oscar award winning team, Craig Foster and Pippa Ehrlich, hand selected some of their favourite ocean life inspired photography prints in collaboration for this one of a kind event. And Marti Marais showcased her fine art of fluid mixed media techniques in her movement-frozen-in-time artworks(https://www.martimarais.com/). I had the divine honour to dive into the minds of tow of these creatives (https://seachangeproject.com/about/)
AB: Tell me what inspires your art and mora about your artistic process
Robert Rorich: Spending any time in nature is something that inspires all of us to do something. Yeah, I love nature and experience a lot of animals in their natural habitat. Later on when I started making sculptures, it all really came through alive again in a new way.
AB: Do you have any favorites masterpieces here at this exhibition?
RR:I think it’s beautiful to make every piece. Each one is completely different for sure. Each one resonates with me in a completely different way. But I do love to make bigger pieces. It’s always really powerful and playful experience.
AB: Is there anything that you would like to share with us with regards to what you want people to feel or see or experience when they admire your art?
RR: Yeah, I decided a while ago when I was making art there’s going to be some reasons why. And as we can really speak to bringing things in channeling in different aspects of what’s real. And I really just want to feel joy and emotion. Exactly what they feel.
AB: What inspires your art and unique techniques?
Marti Marais:
There is so much meditation upon the process and specific and meticulous landscape or seascape planning in what I’m going to do. But once I mixed my colors and I started pouring and manipulating and the technique they come to the point that I just totally need to let go. I love to try to realistically use the colours that inspire me – really dark, dark stormy seas or black night skies. Go with with what’s happening the interaction, the paints and the chemical reactions. You can manipulate and you can create to a point but then you need to go with the flow in the process. If and when you are willing to release and allow this painting to to evolve and create its own magic or the flow of paint. When you don’t try to control it too much, but just go with the flow and allow for the process to complete, then the miraculous really happens.
I don’t follow a recipe, I create my own. I did not learn to technically produce paintings that is perfect according to tradition. But I am creating my own recipe and beating my own drum. There is still so much to be explored. So my love for paint and fascination with the see are all coming together in my art. My really intense love for nights seas and stormy seas can be seen in my work and that really makes me come alive.
AB: What makes this exhibition so special?
MM: This is was a daring exhibition and for this I stepped outside of my comfort zone to do my very best and I know that I have. As an artist, my dream is that I can be creative and work hard in putting in all the physical and emotional effort and energy I poses, but there are things that I cannot do alone. I met Robbie one day I briefly talked to him and introduced myself which I never do because of my introverted personality. I said to him, that I want to do it exhibition with him. I’ve never done that in my life for 15 years as an artist. And that was in December 2020. Robbie started following me on Instagram and we started chatting. Basically just through social media we kept in touch. In 2021, I reminded him of the paintings that I set aside and he later said yes, let’s do this. At that time he didn’t know Craig Foster, but divinely everything came together just one step at a time. And here we are today.