Each Sculpture I created appeared as a vision. I picked up a piece of wire in an ordinary day in 1990 and then the vision of Soul Dancer came. This was followed by The Silent Rage. Followed by the vision for G=MC². The next vision Mary followed. While creating Mary the vision called WIRED DIFFERENT appeared.
It appeared as a story. Over the last 90 days of creating the Sculpture one sentence arrived each day.
The Sculpture is made with wire.
Every wire has a beginning and an end.
All wire starts out the same, straight and pure.
In the hand of the sculptor, every wire is placed where it belongs.
As a wire journeys into the sculpture, it is bent so that when the sculpture is complete, there is not one wire that is bent the same, each one, WIRED DIFFERENT.
To the Sculptor, every wire is beautiful and perfect. Wire that is bent is stronger than when it was straight. After a wire has been bent its shape changes and it is never the same again. Every bend strengthens and shapes the wire.
If a wire has not been bent and pulled it cannot develop the characteristics it needs to complete the journey into the Sculpture. A wire is bent by, and bends, every wire it comes into contact with.
Although all the wires in the Sculpture are connected, every wire is placed into the Sculpture alone. The wire remains in the hand of the Sculptor until its journey into the Sculpture is complete. Each wire has a wonderful purpose in the Sculpture.
To the Sculptor no wire has more value than other wires and no wire has less value than other wires.
What is important to the Sculptor is for every wire to find its purpose in the Sculpture.
The purpose of every wire, is hidden within it. There is a perfect wire for every part of the Sculpture. One wire started the Sculpture and all wires are laid so that one day a wire will come that will complete the Sculpture.
Only the Sculptor can see where every wire must go. The Sculptor whispers to every wire and reveals to it, its purpose.
The wires depend on one another to complete the Sculpture. At any given point of a wires journey it is exactly where it should be.
As a wire journeys into the Sculpture it becomes more and more aware of the Sculptor.
The Sculptor is in every moment of the Sculptures creation.
Every wire in the Sculpture knows the name of the Sculptor. The Sculptor is known by many names.
The Sculpture and the Sculptor are extensions of each other.
When you look at the Sculpture you see the wire, so when you look at the wire you see the Sculptor.
The Sculptor creates the Sculpture in one continuous moment.
As one wire ends its journey into the Sculpture another wire starts.
To the Sculptor the journey that every wire takes matters.
Because the Sculpture, cannot be completed, without it
Neil was born in the Eastern Cape of South Africa in 1970. He studied Food Technology and spent more than 30 years working in corporate leadership roles at Coca Cola, South African Breweries and PepsiCo Simba.
Neil has been with his wife Michelle, a law lecturer, for almost 40 years. They have 2 beautiful children, Caylyn, a medical doctor and Kirsten, an actuary.
Neil started his creative journey as a schoolboy. He came across a poem by William Shakespeare called Since Brass Nor Stone Nor Earth Nor Boundless Sea which absolutely captivated him. The poem became his inspiration. He understood the poem to mean that Shakespeare intended to survive time by captured his thoughts and what he loved in story and poetry. “Capturing his life in words”.
Neil started writing Poetry and in 1998 he printed a booklet of Poems called The Syclone Years. He recited and sold his Poetry books in the Eastern Cape. For his Poetic endeavors the University of Fort Hare included him in a Postcard series of local Artists.
His incredible Wire Sculptures come from many years of dedicated work. The series he is currently exhibiting has been created over 22 thousand hours. Mary took 15 thousand hours to complete over 5 years, G = MC ² took 3 thousand hours over 3 years, The Silent Rage took 3 and a half thousand hours over 3 years 4 months and 12 days, and Soul Dancer took around 500 hours over 6 months to complete.
Neil explains that the creative obsession of Wire Sculptures has characterized, and in many ways, defined his life, as he captures his experience of living in wire. Neil believes that his gift has led him to a simple conclusion. The gift needs to be shared to allow it to make a meaningful contribution, sharing what makes him Different in order to make a Difference.
