The Ocean Artist
Gareth Bekker is a multi-disciplined fine artist living in Mdumbi on the Wild Coast. Deeply attuned to his coastal surroundings, his creative practice is rooted in a desire to reconnect with nature through homesteading, subsistence fishing, and sustainable ocean harvesting.
His primary medium is Gyotaku, the traditional Japanese art of fish printing. Gareth coats his catch in non-toxic ink and presses fabric over the body to capture a detailed, one-to-one impression of the life he harvested. This process acts as a monument to the animal before it is shared as a meal with loved ones, ensuring zero waste as remaining scraps are composted to nourish his vegetable garden.
When rough seas keep him ashore, Gareth turns to fine-liner stipple drawings, entering a meditative state to construct intricate, highly detailed marine life portraits dot by painstaking dot.
Ultimately, his work addresses humanity’s severed bond with the natural world, offering a visual testament to what it means to reclaim a slower, more intentional wildness.
Click on photo to see more
