Kindling Review

Cape Town based artist Bruce Mackay exhibited Kindling at Wolves in Jo’burg for the month of February. I went to check out the opening night (3 February).

I stepped into Bruce’s quaint world of delicate line work, forestry, birds, tree-sailor people (you betcha) and antique keys.

Like peristalsis, I strode across the room to inspect two pieces that promptly caught my eye. The attraction came in the form of two lino prints, beautifully laser cut into wood. 

One of the two linos. 

The detail and craft in these pieces made me so happy. I got that warm fuzzy feeling of antiquity, of the ‘old world’ where I imagined Bruce as a flannel-wearing, bearded woodcutter, handcrafting works of art from his cottage HQ; fire place crackling, birds singing the theme song of ‘The Sound of Music’… Sigh, handcrafted goodness (and sleep deprivation).

 “Those would make rad tattoos, shotgun?”

This is the first thing I said when I made eyes at a man and woman illustration pair done in pen and ink, with their feral, ‘I’ve come from the sea but been lost in the woods for a long long time and can speak to trees and animals’ look about them. Their faces, old and weathered with the sense of wisdom and sadness that comes with time - would make amazing characters in a graphic novel. Or look great on my forearms. Either way, I loved them.

Kindling as a whole comes down to balance: gentle intricacies in the illustrations that aren’t fickle or flimsy. Art that’s striking but doesn’t have to shout or shock to get your attention. 

And the very name ‘kindling’ – something as small and insignificant as little sticks and twigs, when bunched together and ignited, can start a raging fire that can wipe out an entire forest. The art is pretty; nature is harsh. Balance.

Barring the Old Mother Hubbard of parties just 10 km away (Jozi Fest), and that there wasn’t the usual Friday night bustle and drink hustle at Wolves (which is a damn shame), Kindling was well worth checking out. To balance that out however, I know full well that any ensuing Thursday night would've made up for the lack of attendance. Ten fold.

You can check out more of Bruce's delightful work here and here.

Images by Chris Corbett