PAGECAST PAGECAST

PAGECAST: To Sharpen our Senses and Soften our Touch by Chris Soal (with Jo-Ann Strauss)

Loading player...
This episode of Pagecast is brought to you in collaboration with the ARTdacity podcast, ahead of the Investec Art Fair. This week, Jo-Ann Strauss interviews Chris Soal about his book, To Sharpen our Senses and Soften our Touch.

Through his use of discarded and mundane ephemera, such as toothpicks and bottle caps, along with concrete, rebar, electric fencing cable, sandpaper, and other industrial materials, the artist intuitively develops the familiar to the point of the uncanny. Soal’s works can be considered social abstractions influenced by a reinterpreted Arte Povera that is deeply rooted in and reflective of his upbringing in Johannesburg, South Africa. Working symbiotically with his materials, Soal utilises the inherent physical characteristics of the objects to transform them through processes of aggregation, combination, and erosion.

You can find ARTdacity here:

https://www.artdacity.co.za/

#Pagecast #capetownartist #artbookrecommendations
16 Feb English South Africa Books · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

Where to From Here? by Tara Roos (with Twanji Kalula)

In this episode of Pagecast, political analyst Tara Roos joins Twanji Kalula for a sharp, no-nonsense conversation about her new book, Where to From Here?, and what it reveals about the state of South African politics. Roos argues that South Africa has entered an age of uncertainty, as populism rises…
29 Jun 36 min

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng (with Mphuthumi Ntabeni)

In this episode of Pagecast, Man Booker Prize-shortlisted author Tan Twan Eng joins Cape Town-based political commentator and writer Mphuthumi Ntabeni for a conversation about his latest novel, The House of Doors. Set in 1921 at Cassowary House in the Straits Settlements of Penang, the novel follows Robert Hamlyn, a…
22 Jun 29 min

Cape Fever by Nadia Davids (with Gabeba Baderoon)

In this episode of Pagecast, South African playwright and novelist Nadia Davids joins renowned poet and scholar Gabeba Baderoon for a conversation about her latest novel, Cape Fever. Cape Fever follows Soraya Matas, a young maid who takes up a position in the beautiful, decaying home of the eccentric Mrs…
15 Jun 40 min

Pagecast at Kingsmead Book Fair: Mandy Weiner

Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Mandy Weiner sat down with Shakti Pillay from Jonathan Ball Publishers to talk about her latest book, The Deal. In this episode, Mandy pulls back the curtain on the story behind the book -- the kind of deep, forensic storytelling that…
9 Jun 6 min

Pagecast at Kingsmead Book Fair: Nozipho Tshabalala

Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Nozipho Tshabalala sat down with Mpumi Mgidlana from Jonathan Ball Publishers to talk about her memoir, After the Fires: Unlocking the Power of Letting Go. In this episode, Nozipho reflects on the question at the heart of her book: when the…
8 Jun 16 min
All episodes