Date: 2008

From Animal to Human at the Rupert Museum was an exhibition that traced Lewis’s personal and artistic development. The exhibition contextualised all of the sculptor’s work and elucidated the new direction Lewis took after having focused on the animal form for the past 15 years. The carefully selected series of non-chronological works and installations of Shapeshifting traced and illustrated the threads underlying Lewis’s progression from wilderness, to animal, to fragmented animal forms, to the human/animal interface embodied in his latest figure work. Through this exhibition it became clear that his recent exploration of the human form was not the radical shift in focus it may have appeared to be. Instead, this shift in subject matter became seen as a natural progression of the sculptor’s artistic journey and personal philosophy.

An important moment in Lewis’s progression towards the human figures he is currently working on was Leopard and Serpent, which breaks from realism and enters a more abstract, mythical realm. The abstraction is particularly evident in the compositional elements of this piece, and there is also a discernible trace of the influence of sculptors Antoine Louis Barye (1796 – 1875) and Rembrandt Bugatti (1884 – 1916)

As with many Dylan Lewis exhibitions, Shapeshifting included a series of outreach programmes to which local school children were invited.

With Predators and Prey, Dylan Lewis brought a selection of 23 of his animal sculptures to his home town of Stellenbosch, a well-conserved historical gem of cultural significance in the heart of the Cape Winelands. These animal works were placed in an urban, public arena, furthering Lewis’s interest in reaching a broad public. The sculptures worked as an evocative reminder of an often overlooked aspect of this cultural centre’s natural history, for several of these animals once roamed the area freely.

Unlike a gallery setting, sculptures in a bustling urban centre has the benefit of reaching people from all walks of life and across all race, class and socio-economic strata.

The natural beauty of Stellenbosch and its surrounding mountains provided a beautiful backdrop for the sculptures. It was particularly fitting because the sculptor spends much time walking these mountains and they are his major source of inspiration. Interestingly, leopard are still found in this rugged landscape.