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In an exciting and ground-breaking collaboration between Creation Wines, the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, Cape Ballet Africa, a top fashion designer and a classical music composer, a new short film celebrates the profound connection between nature, the land, wine and the arts in a pioneering ‘Agri-CULTURE’ project.

Spearheaded by Creation’s co-owner and artistic director, Carolyn Martin, the concept was originally inspired by the bold vision of French fashion designer Simon Porte Jacquemus. In 2020, he launched his Le Coup de Soleil (The Sunburn) collection in the exquisite lavender fields of Grasse, known as the world’s perfume capital, where models walked along a 500m pink catwalk that paid homage to artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Paul Cézanne and Jean Lurçat, and in particular David Hockey’s Royal Academy installation, The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011.

The South African project takes the concept further and is designed to highlight the arts of winemaking and food pairing with ballet, choreography, music, cinematography, high fashion and craftsmanship, using talented local artists across all disciplines.

‘In Agri-CULTURE, the patient nurturing of vines mirrors the development of artistic expression,’ says Carolyn. ‘Our vineyard team carefully tends each vine, observing its growth, responding to its needs, and guiding its expression while respecting its inherent character. This is a mirror image of how artists cultivate their craft through dedicated practice, innovation, attentive care, and profound respect for tradition.

‘Agri-CULTURE puts the focus on the shared essence of cultivation: the human impulse to collaborate with nature in creating something transcendent,’ says Carolyn. ‘At Creation, we’ve always understood that winemaking exists at this profound intersection, where the cultivation of land meets the cultivation of human expression. This extends to the way we pair wine with locally sourced ingredients, to offer guests at our Tasting Room an authentic and wellness-inspired way of dining.’

Shot on location at Creation over 24 hours, using natural dawn and dusk light and an on-location studio, visuals were choreographed and captured using a high-speed Freefly Ember camera. The effect is dramatic.

Ballet artistes seem suspended in time and space, with the vineyards representing the abundance of nature in colour, form and line. There is a reference to the flow of wine connected to life-giving water, the spontaneous inclusion of indigenous flora and fauna found on the estate, ande glass art by th local company Red Hot Glass. Images representing youth and maturity highlight the journey of the vine to wine. Kat van Duinen’s luxury fashion featuring ostrich feathers, toile and silk introduces a sophisticated, other-worldly dimension to the visual composition. And the film is set to original music by Cape Town composer Peter Johnson.

Entirely produced in the Western Cape with local talent and resources, this project stands as a testament to the region’s creative excellence and collaborative spirit.

‘As you savour Creation wines today,’ adds Carolyn, ‘consider that the word “agriculture” contains “culture” because the cultivation of land was humanity’s first creative art. Each glass of wine represents generations of accumulated wisdom, seasonal attentiveness and patient tending – the same elements that nurture artistic expression in fine winemaking, cuisine, dance, music, and design.’

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QecEu9-Lxuc

Credits:

Director of Photography: Chris Aupiais
Original Music Composition: Peter Johnson
Fashion: Kat van Duinen
Stylist/Producer: Liezl Franken
Musicians: John Minnaar-Msimang & Shannon Cook
Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra
Viola: Peter Gleeson (Retired university engineering lecturer)

CAPE BALLET AFRICA
Artistic Director: Debbie Turner
Movement Director: James Bradley
Artists: Kayla Schultze, Joshua Williams, Mia Coomber
Glass Art: Red Hot Glass
Location: Creation Wines, Hemel-en-Aarde