The garden consists of Lewis’ sculptures placed thoughtfully throughout the open fields. PHOTOS: Wilné van Rooyen
Located between the suburbs of Stellenbosch and the wineland’s rugged mountains, sits the majestic Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden. The garden showcases more than 60 sculptures along a four kilometre path.
The development of the garden began in 2009, according to Dylan Lewis, the artist of the sculpture garden. Lewis hired an excavator and began creating the contours of what would later become a seven-hectare sculpture garden.
Walk too quickly and you’ll miss a cave-like entrance with some more of Lewis’ intricate sculptures. VIDEO: Carl Thomas
In this garden, Lewis aimed to explore the notion of “the wilderness within”.
“Much of the work that I do, and the sculptures that I make, are inspired by experiences in nature,” said Lewis. “So here [in the garden], I have been able to place them in the context in which they have been made.”
Lewis’ sculptures majestically sits in between trees and flowers, and amongst the naturally occurring water features. PHOTOS: Wilné van Rooyen
The theme that runs through this garden explores the personal quest for the unknowable and the impossible, he said.
“My emotional response to a sculpture, space or setting, is telling me something about my own life and experience,” Lewis explained.
The mountains serve as the backdrop, framing the garden and its art. PHOTOS: Wilné van Rooyen
‘The wilderness within’
Lewis initially focused on portraying large feline predators in his artwork, but in recent years he has used the human figure to explore humans’ relationship with their inner wilderness.
“The sculptures emerged from ideas that came through in the sketchbooks I was using. With the human figure, the process is the same,” said Lewis.
Many of Lewis’ sculptures are made of bronze, a metal that ties back to past sculptors in history and has certain qualities that other metals don’t, said Lewis.
Lewis renovated his original working studio and bronze foundry. It now functions as a gallery within the garden. VIDEO: Leo Cordom
Visits by appointment: www.dylanlewis.com
-By Leo Cordom, Heidi-Jane de Wee, Megan Muller, Callan Riddles, Carl Thomas and Wilne’ Van Rooyen