Focus on art: The winged eye

15 April 2014 - 02:00 By Lin Sampson
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POLE POSITION: A weavers' nest, photographed by Marsh
POLE POSITION: A weavers' nest, photographed by Marsh

Dillon Marsh is modest and soft spoken. He is uncomfortable speaking about himself.

His passion for photography is deep rooted, requires time and research, and is not designed to attract limelight.

''I don't just drive around looking for things. I get an idea and then I research it."

Dillon lives in a small flat in Gardens, Cape Town. He has simplified his life - the flat is bare of trendy appurtenances, much like his pictures.

The trademark of his photography is low-key content with an acute and observant twist.

''I like seeing things that are not really obvious - seeing it with different eyes."

In a previous project he tracked down cellphone towers that are disguised, often ridiculously, with artificial palm and pine trees; something generally overlooked by passersby.

In this exhibit, the elaborate weavers' nests (the most complex in the bird world) are built to last with a mass of tiny twigs each brought in by the male birds, who use the nests as a form of display. They choose poles where a nest will be secure.

''What really interested me," said Dillon, ''is that the nests all have different personalities. I am interested in what makes a bird chose a particular pole. In some cases, humans have wrapped wire round the poles to give purchase."

The nests have to be tickety-boo or the female destroys them with disdain and they have to be rebuilt.

Marsh is open to digital photography but these pictures were shot on large-format 4x6 slides. He said: ''It is expensive and tricky, but the results have been worth it."

These complex nests have a primeval feel that chime with the Pangaea: New Art from Africa and Latin America exhibition in London, which draws its themes from the ancient landmass, now broken, that connected Africa to South America.

  • The exhibition is on at Saatchi Gallery in London until August 31
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