Description
Proteus Primeval III, a formidable unique bronze sculpture created in 2021 by Jos Steenkamp, is a dynamic exploration of the very nature of being and becoming. Standing 43.5 cm tall and with a significant weight of 11.2 kg, its presence is both substantial and fluid, capturing a sense of metamorphosis in progress. The bronze surface, likely finished with a patina that emphasizes its shifting planes and multifaceted form, would enhance the impression of energy coalescing and consciousness taking shape. Light would play across its surfaces, revealing and concealing aspects, much like the ever changing nature of Proteus himself, the sea god of Greek mythology known for his ability to shapeshift. The artist explains that “The Proteus Primeval I, II & III Sculptures symbolize Original Spirit shape shifting continuously, meta morphing all potential possibilities before it collapses into a selected form & manifests as a cognitive entity.” This piece, therefore, is not about a fixed state, but about the boundless potentiality of Spirit and the mysterious process by which it becomes individuated and knowable.
This profound conceptual work is brought forth by Jos Steenkamp (SA 1957), an artist whose creative endeavours are deeply synergistic with his life’s work as Dr Jo Steenkamp, a distinguished Clinical Psychologist in Pretoria. With a doctorate in Psychology (1991), Dr Steenkamp is the originator of SHIP® (Spontaneous Healing Intra, systemic Process), a psychotherapeutic method developed over nearly four decades of practice and research into the spontaneous healing of trauma and the psycho, biological regulation of internal dis-ease. He founded and continues to lead The SHIP® Foundation (2001), and is a respected author and speaker. Dr Steenkamp’s return to the sculpting studio in 2021, after a 22 year hiatus dedicated to the rigorous development of SHIP®, was a significant “coming home.” This re, engagement with his early passion allowed him to give tangible form to the complex, often elusive, processes of the human psyche that he had explored so deeply in his clinical and theoretical work.
Proteus Primeval III serves as a potent metaphor for the fluid, dynamic nature of consciousness and identity, concepts central to Dr Steenkamp’s psychological understanding. The idea of “Original Spirit shape shifting continuously” before “collapsing” into a “cognitive entity” can be paralleled with the development of the self, which emerges from a vast field of potential, shaped by experience yet always retaining a connection to something more fundamental and less defined. In the context of SHIP® and the healing of trauma, this “Protean” capacity is vital. Trauma can fixate the psyche into rigid patterns, and therapy aims to restore fluidity, allowing for new forms of being and experiencing to emerge. The sculpture captures that moment of incipient formation, the thrilling, precarious point where infinite possibility begins to take on specific form. Jos Steenkamp the artist, describes his sculptures as emanating from an “intuitive interplay of the conscious and unconscious,” becoming “vessels of relational energy.”
Proteus Primeval III particularly embodies this, inviting the viewer to contemplate the origins of their own being, the unseen potentials that lie within, and the continuous dance between formlessness and form that defines existence. It is a celebration of the creative dynamism inherent in Spirit itself, a dynamism that Dr Steenkamp has dedicated his life to understanding and fostering, both in his consulting room and in his art studio. This sculpture is a powerful reminder of the constant becoming that is life.
Artist: Jos Steenkamp(SA1957)
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