New Works at Arum, Boschendal
I recently had the honour of having a number of textile works selected for Arum, the new restaurant by the FYN group, situated within the historic werf garden at Boschendal.
Rooted in the rhythms of the Franschhoek Valley, Arum draws deeply from its surroundings. The kitchen works in close relationship with the land - its soil, animals, produce and seasons - with fire as a central medium of transformation. It is a space shaped by care, attention, and an ongoing dialogue between past and present. To place work within this context felt both grounding and expansive, and a true privilege.
Working in response to the interior concept developed by MR Design Studio, two of my recent works were selected, and a third commissioned for the space.
For the ‘animal’- themed bar area, Totem in Cradock Brown, a tapesty handwoven from wool sourced from a rare flock of naturally chocolate-coloured sheep in the Eastern Cape, was selected. This material was a gift from my aunt, via her friend who tends the flock, and carries with it a sense of locality, lineage, and quiet specificity. The wool holds the trace of the animal, the land, and the care embedded in its keeping. Woven into form, it becomes both material and memory, grounding the space in something deeply tactile and alive.
For the ‘heritage’ themed dining room, I worked with vintage corduroy - a material that speaks to endurance, a luxurious tactility, and a resonant relationship with light and history. Its worn surface carries the imprint of use, of bodies, of time. Through cutting and reassembling, these fragments are held in new configurations, allowing past and present to coexist within a single field.
In the richly textured interiors, the works offer a quieter counterpoint an invitation to slow down, to notice, and to feel. Though abstract in form, they evoke aerial views of cultivated land. The commissioned piece, in particular, holds an abstract yet place-rooted relationship to the layout of the werf garden, from which the restaurant sources much of its produce, and which the works now overlook.
Across both spaces, the works engage with themes that continue through my practice: material memory, transformation, and care. Cloth becomes a vessel, holding traces of use, cycles of desire and disposal, and the possibility of revaluation through attention and making.
To contribute to a space so deeply committed to integrity and sustainability, in its sourcing, its process, and its philosophy, feels like a meaningful alignment. My sincere thanks to Chef Travis Finch, Peter Tempelhoff, the FYN team, and MR Design Studio for the trust and collaboration.
And trust me, the menu is DELICIOUS. I cannot recommend a visit highly enough.
- Leila Walter
