Strauss & co - 1 December 2018, Cape Town

50 Zeitz MOCAA Benefit Art Auction 23 Deborah Bell SOUTH AFRICAN 1957- Compass 2011 mixed media on paper sheet size: 134 by 215cm ZAR225 000 - 300 000 £12 500 - 16 500 $16 000 - 21 000 € 14 000 - 19 000 PROVENANCE Donated by the artist. Courtesy of Everard Read Gallery. In Compass (2011), a solitary tiger stretches its body across a vast, golden desert. It appears calm, unperturbed by the potential threat of the desert. A wheel, some sticks, a brick and a ladder – all markers of ‘progress’ and ‘civilisation’ – appear dwarfed beside it, useless. As a symbol of solitary strength and willpower, the tiger best encapsulates that ’single gesture of absolute presence’ for which contemporary South African artist Deborah Bell is so revered. She describes her Zen approach to art as a spiritual act or devotion, best done in isolation: ‘No one can take you there, you’ve got to find your own way.’ In this sense, Compass is an exemplary work. Deborah Bell (b. 1957, South Africa) has collaborated extensively with her contemporaries William Kentridge, Robert Hodgins, and David Krut on several historically important projects, and exhibited extensively in both South Africa and the United Kingdom.