This installation forms part of a two person exhibition held at gordart Gallery, entitled Secrets And Love Letters alongside international artist, Saaralissa Ylitalo. The exhibition explores the relationship between Saaralissa's collection of secrets and Stephan's obsessive writing of love letters.

“I hold this letter in my hand
A plea, a petition, a kind of prayer
I hope it does as I have planned
Losing her…  is more than I can bear”
Nick Cave – Love Letter

The writing of ‘love letters’ have become synonymous with the work of Stephan Erasmus, for him the writing of these love letters becomes an exploration of two of the most basic of human emotions, love and sorrow. This installation becomes a prime example of Erasmus’ attitude towards the indivisibility of both these emotions as the installation becomes a three-dimensional sorrowful love letter to his muse. As much as the work explores the notion of a specific type of loss the work also remains ever hopeful.

This love letter is a composite of several different bodies of texts. The first of these texts is an edited version of the contemporary musician, Nick Cave’s song entitled Love Letter, which has great significance for the artist. Through the words of the song the listener becomes aware of the power and hope that the song writer invests in this letter, to restore a relationship as well as make amends with his lost love. “A plea, a petition, a kind of prayer […] love letter go get her”. This song becomes a conceptual as well as a physical frame work, through which the installation can be understood.

The second layer of text is taken from the first chapter of The Song of Songs (that reads more as a secular text than a religious text) taken from the Christian Bible. The text was selected not because of its association with the Christian faith but rather because of the strangeness of its inclusion into this religious body of text. This text reads as a conversation between two lovers with commentary from friends. Within this installation these texts are encrypted by sewing thread between randomly selected letters that makes up the Nick Cave text. This encryption system for this text was specifically selected as it would allude to and emulate a dark chaotic night sky. Within the context of Erasmus’ love letter the inability of himself and the viewer to access these loving conversations becomes a place of chaos and great sorrow, however these conversations are not absent but rather inaccessible. This text also becomes a net of sorts, a safety net, and a net to get caught in. The net for Erasmus becomes both a place of confusion, being unsure and being hopeful within this place of insecurities.  

From this chaotic net hangs the third body of text, a collection of hopeful as well as sorrowful song lyrics ranging from musicians such as Air Supply, Nick Cave, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Skunk Anansie, Snow Patrol, Veruca Salt, and Type O Negative to name but a few. These lyrics are taken from a collection of songs that have been built up based on the love songs' ability to evoke emotions of love and sorrow.  These lyrics were printed, torn into smaller sections and folded into small parcels. The act of tearing, in this instance, was not decided on to destroy but rather turn the mass of text (approx. 36 pages) into more manageable bits. The 803 parcels of sorrowful hope or hopeful sorrow are suspended from the chaotic ‘night sky’ turning the ominous sky into a starry night. The packages of lyrics become little lights of hope, which are so close that they can be reached but not accessed.

The point of this love letter differs in one aspect from Nick Cave's love letter in that Erasmus’ love letter is not trying to convince his muse to come back but rather that he is waiting…

Die Middernag Son (The Midnight Sun)

Die Middernag Son (The Midnight Sun) is an exhibition that has been developed using Afrikaans love poems as a starting point. Erasmus has identified several poems that feature the moon and the night sky in the love poem. This exhibition becomes an important body of work as it points to Erasmus' exploration of his own heritage as an Afrikaner. Within this body of work Erasmus is still writing his love letters to his muse however these letters are not only letters to a specific person, the muse, but the muse becomes symbolic of a much older notion of the feminine divine: as the earth. In many early cultures the feminine divine was associated with the earth - mother earth - Gaia, as well as the night sky - Nut (an Egyptian Goddess). Thus these letters become sorrowful love letters written to a muse that embodies the country of his birth, South Africa. These letters use the muse as a metaphor for the exploration of his relationship with his country and stigmas that surrounds his identity. Mimicking the sorrowful declarations of an undying love in a tumultuous relationship.