Un-cloaking the estuary: the current state of the uMngeni Beachwood Mangroves unveiled through creative practice-led research.

Abstract

This creative Practice-Led Research study arose from explorations of the uMngeni Beachwood Mangroves Estuary, situated in Ethekweni municipal area, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The Estuary is of significant environmental importance to the area, but the biodiversity is threatened by pollution, invasive alien vegetation and species, as well as encroaching urban development. Within the broad context of global warming and climate change, raising awareness of the importance of biodiversity is paramount. The artist-researcher lives near the Estuary and knows it intimately. Through this study, she aimed to develop new ways of making visible the state of the Estuary, as opposed to simply repeating typically didactic environmental education messages. The artworks arose from an artmaking heuristic of wandering and meditating in the Estuary, collecting discards and natural artefacts. These items were incorporated into mixed-media artworks utilising natural materials from the Estuary, fabric rejects, hand-made dyes, stitching, printing and painting methods. Out of this practice, the research questions emerged and developed. This thesis is the exegesis accompanying the body of work exhibited at the culmination of the research. The study is draws on the philosophies of Deep Ecology by Naess, Weintraub’s Eco-Materialism, and current theories of plant life which challenge human-centric views. Zen Buddhism, Sumi-e painting, and the artist’s working life experiences in the clothing industry exerted influences on the work. The cyclical cross-pollination of the art practice with theory, journal writing, visual documentation, walking and meditation, led to un-envisaged creative developments. The processes are recorded extensively in a series of workbooks which enhance the text and the viewing of the artworks. Engagement of the senses through meditation revealed miniscule realities and the innate reparative mechanisms of the plants together with further discoveries in literature. Sublimation of painting and drawing skills made way for the artefacts of the Estuary to lead the way. This culminated in the creation of cloaks, unexpected somatic forms, in which the wearer may be absorbed into the translated realities of this Estuary and its life forms. The initial negative assumptions about the environmental degradation of the Estuary shifted to a more positive outlook, that of reparation. The intrinsic nature of the Estuary plants to repair damage helps to strengthen this eco-system, partially offsetting the ongoing degradation. The revelation of these positive elements was an unexpected outcome of this research, offering hope.