JONATHAN COMERFORD | Artist | Printmaker |
Home     Happenings     Artworks     About     Contact     Register

Happenings


The Tin Boats portfolio.



Went to see the captain
Strangest I could find
Laid my proposition down
laid it on the line.
I won't slave for beggar's pay
likewise gold and jewels
but I would slave to learn the way
to sink your ship of fools
Words by Robert Hunter

This portfolio of lithographs is about imagining the challenge of launching into a transition from an old to a new world. The call is for contenders to launch their small vessels of humanity into the sea of life. The captains stand ready, the mists of time cascade from their pinnacled hats, the wail of the bullhorns call for challengers whilst others wade and wallow in the sea. New horizons can be seen in the distance yet are still to journey.

The origin of the tin boat or tin canoe, a historical icon of the Western Cape seaboard, is from my childhood growing up in Sea Point where I was given one of these canoes made of corrugated iron, wood, and tar. Youngsters of the time used them as a form of recreation to surf and sail before the introduction of the modern fiberglass surfboards. They fueled my imagination in the stories told to me by the people who used them; how humans are drawn to the challenge of the sea and the need to invent vessels to travel upon it. As the urban legend goes, there were even attempts to reach Robben Island. The craft was sleek yet difficult to handle in the water, which apparently, provided for a lot of daring challenges.

The relationship between the ideas explored in the lithographs and my immigrant parentage is significant to the closure of a particular historical period in my life. The symbol of launching a tin boat is like the beginning of a new journey in life and the notion that not all boats launched are filled with fools but rather with courageous adventurers.

Cape Town 2005

All works are available for sale and the price includes postage.

Go to the sales basket button below to process your order.

The Tin Boats



Click the image for a view of: The moons a balloon.
The moons a balloon.
Click the image for a view of: Victor
Victor
Click the image for a view of: The Contestant
The Contestant
Click the image for a view of: Calling all contestants
Calling all contestants
Click the image for a view of: In coming tide
In coming tide
Click the image for a view of: In the drink
In the drink
Click the image for a view of: King of the castle
King of the castle
Click the image for a view of: Knowing the ropes
Knowing the ropes
Click the image for a view of: Launching
Launching
Click the image for a view of: On the brink
On the brink


Send a query: The Tin Boats portfolio. (Reference ID: 6)



 Hakim Anitolo Odo L`aiye - The world is a river.
Odo L`aiye - The world is a river. Artist: Hakim Anitola - Artwork Master printmaker: Jonathan Comerford
1. Blue head - Silkscreen - Image: H56cm x W76cm Portrait
 Printmaking Sans Frontiers Linocut project 2016 -Cape Town, South Africa 2016
District Six Museum Homecoming Centre Cape Town South Africa 2016
Jonathan editioning - H G Printmakers 2016 CapeTown - HGP Pop up studio @ D6 Home Coming Centre
 Printmaking Sans Frontiers: Works by Hard Ground Printmakers 1989 - 2021
 Published works by Jonathan Comerford
The gallery presents work produced by master print maker, Jonathan Comerford, since 1989, in collaboration with artists from Southern Africa, Europe and the United States.
Growing Cube - lulwah al Homoud - Silkscreen - Image W40 x H30 cm
 RUN AND JAC Printmaking Collaboration between Giacomo aka RUN and master printmaker, Jonathan Comerford
Prints by Italian artist and internationaly renown muralist produced in collaboration with master printmaker Jonathan Comerford - Hard Ground Printmakers,London
 South Africa `Black & White` London
A retrospective of linocuts by Billy Mandindi and Jonathan Comerford.
Speak, see hear no evil - Linocut by Billy Mamdindi
 The Tin Boats portfolio.
A portfolio of 11 lithographs produced by the artist in 2005.
On the brink


Copyright © 1988-2013 Jonathan Comerford™