Emergence

With Emergence, an exhibition at the Franschhoek Motor Museum at the historical L’Ormarins wine estate, Lewis first unveiled his new figure work in association with Everard Read Gallery. The estate belongs to the Rupert family, prominent supporters of the arts and collectors of Lewis’s work. This was also the first time that Lewis explored multimedia, and the first time that he collaborated with an artist of a different discipline to expand on some of the ideas embedded in his work. (In this instance, he collaborated with Don Maxwell Searll, an internationally acclaimed producer and director.) The exhibition drew visitors into an intriguing journey, moving between sculptures and film installations in which the figures appeared as cinematic images that explored some of the ideas that influenced their making.

Multimedia was used throughout the exhibition, with video installations exploring many of the ideas embedded in the sculptures as a major component.

With evocative lighting, dramatic display and careful attention to detail, Emergence was more of an installation than an exhibition.

With Emergence, Lewis first showed his female figure work to the public: a radical departure from the animal sculpture exhibitions that preceded it.