photo credit: Nicky Newman

Kali van der Merwe

 

Kali van der Merwe was born in Johannesburg and re-named herself after the fierce Indian Goddess of creation and destruction.

 

Kali’s work merges boundaries between art, science, biology, astronomy and taxidermy, entering into the realms of imagination and magic. She explores trajectories between real and fictional, traversing nuanced interconnections between death and life.

 

In 2018 Kali had a 5 month solo show, AfTeR LiFe, at Iziko South African Museum, which was well received by local and international audiences alike. In 2019, she entered into immersive filmmaking, creating ANIMORTIS in collaboration with Simon Dunckley. The 360 film premièred at Under the Dome festival at Iziko Planetarium Cape Town. The project was curated by Centre for Curating the Archive at the University of Cape Town

 

Kali’s formal study is an honours Fine Art Degree majoring in sculpture. While living in former East Berlin, just after the wall came down, she developed an interest in photography and filmmaking, and on returning to South Africa, went on to an award-winning documentary film career spanning almost two decades. Concurrently she directed a non profit organisation, Other-Wise media, developing ground breaking, awareness raising projects while imparting media skills to Women and Youth in High Risk Situations.

 

Nine years ago, Kali moved from the city of Cape Town to her current location on a remote farm near the tiny village of Baardskeerdersbos in the Overstrand. During this period of her mid forties, she became legally blind and was unable to work or drive. She experienced a dramatic restoration of her eyesight via cataract eye operations. With renewed bionic vision, she can once again explore her fascination with micro detail.

 

Kali sees herself as a visual advocate on behalf of fragile ecosystems and endangered species.

 

In her own words, "I hope to inspire a sense of curiosity, connection and wonder through my creativity.

 

In essence we are all spiraling ladders of DNA."

exhibitions / projects present & upcoming

 

watch this space ...

creativity in uncertain times

ANIMORTIS

by KALCYFI

 

 

Kali van der Merwe

Simon Dunckley

 

 

Animortis is a journey into the realm of death.

 

In the expanding, contracting cosmic void, animal, bird and insect spirit-automata attempt to reclaim their mobility.

 

Guardian consciousness from the Animalia kingdom keep a watchful eye out.

 

This immersive film was created with found insect and roadkill corpses.

 

It speaks to our collective fate and current ecological crisis.

 

The abyss IS staring back at us.

 

 

This experimental, 360 degree, animated film was screened at the Under the Dome festival at the Iziko Museum Planetarium Cape Town in November 2019. It is in the continued process of being distributed. WATCH THIS SPACE.

 

Originally produced for the

Centre for Curating the Archive,

University of Cape Town and

Iziko Museums of South Africa

for the Under the Dome Experimental Film Festival.

 

The Under the Dome festival is unframed, unidentified, unbounded, unconventional, unveiled, unpredictable, unexplored, underground, unquantified, unconstrained, unprecidented, uninhibited, unexpected...

 

article by Sarah Middleton

 

information about the different films

 

 

 

Filmmakers at Under the Dome festival opening

exhibition history