As the rains recede with the end of Winter in the Western Cape and we prepare for the annual blooming of our mountains and valleys, printmaker Jane Eppel launches her latest series of prints aptly titled: An Alphabet of Fynbos’. In these 26 little copperplate etchings, each letter of the Alphabet becomes an intricate depiction of local flora, an indigenous illuminated manuscript, where ‘A’ is a budding Agapanthus, ‘B’ is the rare blue disa, ‘C’ is a Crassula, ‘D’ is a chain of local daisies, and so all the way to ‘Z,’ which is for Zaluzianskia. Inspired by her childhood love for the Flower Fairy Alphabet, (a 1930’s documentation of typical British flowers by Cicely M. Barker) and more recently by hikes around the peninsula’s mountains, Eppel’s Fynbos Alphabet is an ode to the botanical richness of the Cape Floral Kingdom.
In the series ‘Love letters,’ Eppel uses her Fynbos font to depict snippets of South African poetry, combining two of the artist’s great passions. Lines and phrases by local poets, such as Finuala Dowling and PR Anderson, become mantras emblazoned in indigenous flora.
Jane lives and works in Cape Town. A former painter, since April 2010 she has been exploring the medium of copperplate etching. Her prints have most recently been exhibited at Amaridian Gallery in New York, alongside the work of her husband, botanical sculptor Nic Bladen. This is Eppel’s second show at The South African Print Gallery.
The South African Print Gallery
109 Sir Lowry Road,Woodstock (next door to ‘The Kitchen’)
Tuesday – Friday 09h00 – 16h00 Saturday 09h00 – 13h00
Tel: www.janeeppel.com