Soil and Water Project – Kromdraai Medicinal Plant Garden
The Italian Cultural Institute in Pretoria is pleased to invite you to a special follow-up event to the Soil and Water project, developed in 2025 in collaboration with the Nirox Foundation and the University of Pretoria School of the Arts.
On 26 March 2026 at 11:00 a.m. (SAST), audiences are invited to join a live-streamed conversation from Nirox Garden with Italian multidisciplinary artist Egle Oddo and the renowned South African artist Johan Thom, curator of Soil & Water project. The discussion will focus on Oddo’s evolving work, the Kromdraai Medicinal Plant Garden, developed during her residency in South Africa, and will be streamed live on the Institute’s Instragram profile @iicpretoria_ https://www.instagram.com/iicpretoria_/.
Artists in dialogue
Following her research along the Blaauwbankspruit River and within the Nirox Sculpture Park, Oddo’s practice has taken root—both metaphorically and literally—in the fertile ground of Kromdraai. The Kromdraai Medicinal Plant Garden emerges as a living, site-responsive artwork that interweaves ecological knowledge, indigenous plant traditions, and contemporary artistic research.
Professor Johan Thom (University of Pretoria) is a South African visual artist known for his work in video, installation, performance, and sculpture, and is regarded as one of the country’s leading performance artists. His work has been featured in major international exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale, as well as festivals and galleries across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Broadcast live from Nirox Garden, this conversation offers audiences a unique opportunity to hear directly from the artist about the conceptual, ecological, and social dimensions of the project. The discussion will also explore broader topics regarding contemporary and participative art, and the relationships between soil, water and the local communities.
A Living Artwork
The Kromdraai Medicinal Plant Garden reflects Oddo’s ongoing exploration of “operational realism” and poetic narrative systems—where scientific inquiry and imaginative storytelling converge. Conceived as a space of encounter, the garden invites visitors to reconsider the boundaries between art, ecology, and community.
As a potential permanent, site-specific contribution to the Nirox Sculpture Park, the project embodies the long-term vision of the Soil and Water exhibition: to nurture sustainable cultural and environmental dialogue.
Through initiatives such as this, the Italian Cultural Institute in Pretoria continues to promote contemporary Italian art while strengthening intercultural exchange and environmental awareness in South Africa.
Follow us live on 26 March 2026 at 11:00 a.m.