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Eri-Kah van Breda is a botanical fine art photographer that has explored the unique relationship between fire and fynbos photographing post-fire proteas since 2020. Her aim is to use her art as a vehicle to create a visual appreciation to increase awareness and knowledge about ’good fire’.
She chose the Protea family as her main conceptual art subject due to its remarkable characteristics, symbolism and its ecological relationship with fire that has evolved over millions of years.
The overall mood of her artwork being dark, solemn, and slightly macabre is predominantly 17th-century Dutch Golden Age inspired. She manages to give the burnt proteas trace suggestions of life due to incorporating typical Dutch Master Rembrandt van Rijn rich earth tones, dramatic contrast and deep shadows.
Drawing inspiration from the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age was a conscientious attribute to indirectly place emphasis on our first appointed Dutch Governor whom introduced the very first pine invasive into our fynbos biome.
To incorporate global warming awareness, fire damaged fynbos are placed against tarnished substandard oven trays used as backgrounds to metaphorically represent the increasing and intense heat factor of climate change – like inside an oven - gradually getting hotter. This feature of combined burnt elements has now become Eri-Kah’s artistic trademark.
An ancestral heritage link is maintained by incorporating original collections of carbonized oven baking trays sourced from families originating from a Moravian Missionary Village called Elim, a National Heritage Site renowned for their thatching trade and export of Fynbos since the late 1800’s.
Beside practising her art in a typical artist hamlet called Baardskeerdersbos near the southern-most tip of Africa, It is imperitive for Eri-kah to collaborate with other creatives or individuals striving to make a difference. She does this by offering collaborative workshops and photowalks to highlight the important role creatives can play in helping spread the word of the importance of preserving our natural heritage.
Her ultimate goal is to create an outcome whereby through art, creatives can either support, inspire or empower with the idea of generating a positive outcome for the future of our fynbos biome.
