“...and if one green bottle would accidentally fall, you would have, no green bottles hanging on the wall.”

Artist Mary-Ann Orr has redefined this old nursery rhyme through a year long collaboration, with a group of underprivileged children creating livelihoods through municipal dumps within the Eastern Cape.
Mary-Ann sources much of her own materials from found objects, spending her time sifting through local municipal rubbish dumps. While there she met children who’s livelihoods were dependant on these locations. She began collaborating with these children, and noticed their delicate eye for
objects of beauty amongst the waste that inspired joy.

Gradually a small menagerie of paired ceramic creatures were discovered, as if Mary-Ann’s team were excavating an archaeological midden from Noah’s Ark. Thus was born the breathtaking sculpture, entitled The story-teller’s chair- Noah’s Ark. As perplexed as Noah with his Ark, after creating the chair Mary-Ann wondered, “what do I do with this work of ARK?” Having successfully exhibited the work within her gallery in Stellenbosch,

Mary-Ann finally found the Mount Sinai to rest the chair. The chair has been donated to Biblioneef an NGO which sources African children stories and translates them into 12 South African languages.

Large editions of top quality books are printed and then distributed for free to schools, libraries and
organizations operational in underprivileged communities.

The story ‘within’ the storyteller’s chair will be presented as an opening feature and live installation at the 2008 Cultavaria FNB Private Clients and De Kat exhibition at the KWV Cathedral Cellar in Paarl on the morning of the 27 September 2008 at 11:00