Shany van den Berg | nōs / ons | 7 - 30 April 2021

In 'nōs / ons', her solo exhibition at Everard Read in Cape Town, Shany van den Berg meditates on what divides and connects us as humans.
She says, "'Nōs' is the Latin word for 'us' and, in my mother tongue, 'ons'."
Among the many pandemic visuals online, Van den Berg found one particular range of references which provided a counterpoint to the other images of devastation and loss.
In early 2020, millions of farmed flowers had to be dumped. Both beautiful and tragic, this was captured on many news sites. With no one allowed to venture out, purchases limited to essentials, and airplanes grounded, the many bouquets which had before been picked, arranged and delivered daily around the globe became instead chaotic mountains of mingled colour.
A poignant example of a world deeply altered, these images pollinated her artistic investigations for 'nōs / ons'. For Van den Berg, the petals, stems and leaves, as they decomposed into the ground, became reminders of the cycles of life and death.
At the root of 'nōs / ons' is shared human experience. As physically separated as we have been during the pandemic, we are not alone. Each work in this exhibition is unique and embraces its own story, but together they make up a louder and more universal impression of humanity united despite the distance.
Video by Too Social Digital Media @toosocialsa
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