A record R712,000 was raised last night for ocean charities by auctioneer comedian Nik Rabinowitz who cajoled the audience into emptying their wallets at the Wavescape Surfboard Art Auction in Cape Town.
The auction at Jack Black’s Taproom in Diep River forms part of the Wavescape Surf & Ocean Festival presented by Vans, which includes beach cleanups, film screenings, ocean talks and other ocean events. Proceeds of the auction go to the NSRI, 9Miles Project, Beach Co-op, Shark Spotters, and Ocean Pledge.
The ten surfboards by top South African artists fetched an average price of R71,200. This surpasses the average of R71,090 fetched for 11 boards in 2018, which holds the record total of R782,000 raised for ocean charities.
Between his rapid-fire stream-of-consciousness auctioneering that spoofed professional auctioneers, Rabinowitz would suddenly pause the bidding to regale the audience with strange stories of no relevance at all, including rather strange interpretations of several artworks.
But for the board that fetched the most, there was no need for a funny critique. The beautifully made portrait of environmental legend David Attenborough went for R115,000 to a mysterious visitor from America. Artist Marty Lund, in the house to nervously watch the bidding, was thrilled, particularly after the stress of repainting the face of the veteran documentarian when he turned a Donald Trump orange after an adverse chemical reaction during the glassing process.
Filmmaker Michael Ien Cohen, fresh from California to host the last official event of the festival, his film Humanity Stoked at the Labia Theatre on Saturday, found himself the proud owner of a South African art board. His film is an experiment into how humanity can move forward as espoused by iconic skateboarders, activists, scientists, and artists unified by experiences and perspectives shaped by skateboarding.
One artboard was even auctioned twice, when the buyer gifted it back to the auction. The work by Justin Southey initially fetched R45,000, while the second bid went for R22,000. This made it the bargain of the evening, unless you add the two amounts it fetched, which elevated it to a respectable R67,000.
Brett Murray, the longest running artist to serve the Wavescape Artboard Project, contributed a board with an apt message for current times: “Where are the adults?” His board was purchased for R80,000.
One shrewd art investor responded well to the acerbic wit and ironic humour of Rabinowitz. He ended up with three boards by the end of the evening, including the second-highest board, a beautifully crafted tactile painting of flora on both sides produced by Lee-Ann Heath for R110,000 as well as another double-sided work, the aerial beach scenes by Marie-Louise Koen (R80,000), and the organic ocean shapes painted by Liberty Battson (R40,000).
The dreamy moonscape by Amy-Lee Tack went for R65,000, while the culturally resonant sleepscape by Amy Ayanda went for R30,000. The patterned African portraiture by Fhatuwani Mukheli fetched R80,000, while the moody shadowy street scene by Dbongz Mahlathi went for R45,000.
The final event of the film festival will be the Blue Oceans Masterclass, which was postponed from last Monday due to the national shutdown. This year, the masterclass will focus on aerial filming via manned or unmanned craft. The gyrocopter pilot Jean Tresfon will chat through some dos and don’ts of filming from the air, particularly around etiquette with equipment and expectations of the pilot, and other aspects. Top action content creator Hloni Coleman will talk us through some techniques with DJI drones, while Orms sales guru Jakkie le Roux will show us some of the latest top-end drone gear.
