Daniel Rutland Manners and Greg Karvellas' entry into the 2019 Raw Vision short film competition
Helen Martins’ Owl House is a remarkable achievement. It is as unexpected as it is moving. What started off as an ordinary house, her home, was slowly transformed over the years into a strange and intense art world.
The work challenges definitions of art, just as Miss Helen herself challenges conventional notions of the artist. Helen Martins is a mystic artist and the work arises from a desire to arm-wrestle with angels and even, pin God down on her own terms.
Metaphorically, when one scratches away at the sentimental and kitsch surface of much of the artwork, one discovers a mystical diamond. When one enters the Owl House, one steps right into the metaphorical Holy Land. With this simple analogy as a pebble of truth in one’s back pocket, one can wander through the spaces and unravel their meanings ad-infinitum. Anne Graaff, author of The Owl House (published 2017 and featured in Raw Vision).
This promotional video was originally created as a trailer for the Fugard Theatres production of The Road to Mecca written by Athol Fugard and staged at the Fugard Theatre in 2018. This extended version of the trailer acts both as an intimate showcase of the Owl House as well as promotional tool to make those who have not been to the Owl House aware of its incredible beauty and cultural importance.
