A tale of two artists who brought their creative visions and passions to life in their events venue.
Brendon and I are two creatives who chose to live a different life on a 100-acre farm on Mount West, 20 minutes from Nottingham Road, off the grid with our darling cat and two cattle dogs, Bruce and Sheila (of course!). Our venue, Infinity, has been a ‘creation in progress’ to accomplish this building feat from its extraordinary breathtaking aspect and then through the COVID storm!
Since spending his high school years in The Midlands, Brendon had been looking for a place to settle with views somewhere near Nottingham Road. On one of his social stops at Linga Lapa, B, as he is affectionately referred to, was chatting to Ian Mckay and asked him for some advice. Ian replied, “Well, the best views are from the Mount West side.” Brendon reminisces how Ian showed him this little piece of heaven on the slopes of Mount West, “I climbed to the top, and at its lofty heights of 1850m above sea level, I could see the whole Drakensberg to Inhlazane. It was the best views I had seen, and I was sold.”
I entered the picture as a business and life partner in early 2018 and joined Brendon to acquire Enfin Farm (per title deeds) after some subdivision delays, now named Enfin Estate. We used to hike up the slopes of Mount West for sundowners and marvel at the incredible light and panoramic west-facing views across The Midlands countryside. It is nothing short of spiritual up here. Sounds cheesy, but so many others have mentioned those exact words on visiting this place. The vision of sharing the endless views and golden light with others laid the path to the creation of Infinity.
However, the aspect of the land and the site they chose to build the venue proved to be challenging and costly. With no infrastructure, the work began by constructing the concrete strip road zig-zagging up the mountain. However, the cement trucks wouldn’t attempt the steep climb, so all the concrete mixing was done with a team of workmen at the base of Mount West. We then schlepped over 1200 loads of cement up the mountain in a 1984 Landrover 110 to lay the driveway and floor for the venue.
On completion of the 600sqm roof and as the contractors’ dust settled, Mount West experienced a freak storm which tore off half our newly finished roof! The sheets lay like pick-up sticks across the neighbouring farms for kilometres. We both wanted to cry, but thankfully the contractor had erroneously left off the hurricane clips and agreed to replace the roof under his workmanship warranty. Trying to stretch the budget with steel prices rising steadily every month, we decided to make all our windows with our handy welder. It all worked out brilliantly, except that no two are the same, which made fitting the glass an extremely tedious chore! Spring water spouts from all sides of Mount West from the Drakensberg Aquafer formed part of our decision to position Infinity where it is on a natural contour fed by its own natural spring water. Even during the drought months, it flowed consistently, which is a blessing!
Being entirely off the grid had its challenges initially. My only prerequisite to living remotely up a mountain was to have a hot bath at the end of a day of manual labour. B found an old cast iron bath which was propped up on a couple of stones with a fire underneath, which I admit that, coupled with sundowners, were the best baths I ever had. In March 2020, The Midlands Magazine featured Infinity as an ‘Up and Coming Midlands Venue’. The anticipation of launching was palpable! A week later, the world went into COVID lockdown freefall, and so did our dream and everything we had worked towards.
Our vision was to build a big venue for 200 people first. Without a chapel or on-site accommodation and ongoing uncertainty about further lockdowns, we felt like an infinite failure. True to his tenacious ability to get creative, social skills, and passion for music, B called some musicians and launched Infinity Music Sessions.
Brendon is known for his large form sculptures. His work deals with his interest and ideas based on cosmology, astronomy, cymatics, geometry, the golden ratio and especially music. He has done large scale public and private installations both nationally and internationally. He is currently busy with two large scale public projects on the Durban beachfront later this year and a piece named Beethoven to be unveiled in September 2022 in Franschhoek.
Being artists, we share an appreciation for aesthetics and unique places. The natural world and I have been intertwined, fueling my vision. My large scale abstract oil paintings show a passion for expressing the light and engaging the viewer in the essence of nature, be it a figure or a forest. My happiest place is outdoors in large open spaces in the sunshine (preferably 25°C, but let us not get too fussy now, this is The Midlands). Our vision is to combine our love of art and the elements in the venue to offer a unique destination experience to all who visit Enfin Estate. Ideally, we would like to have a few bespoke weddings, a music event or two, art retreats and create a sculpture park. Infinity will also host artworks of other artists that will adorn the venue should the client wish.
We are currently building glass and wooden cabins perched on the mountain tops for our guests. Brendon has a sculpture in mind for a contemporary chapel cantilevered off a rocky peninsular, the ultimate place to exchange vows!
This amazing Midlands community’s genuine love and support never disappoint and have been invaluable in setting down roots in the area. Viewings are by appointment only (just in case B is wearing his signature sarong!) Feel free to contact me to book an appointment.