Which artists, books or music have inspired your work?
Artists include Jane Alexander, Wilma Cruise, Ledelle Moe, Samuel Allerton, Francois Van Reenen, Arno Morland, Katja Abbott, Andrew Hofmeyr, Louis van den Heever, Cornelia Stoop, Strijdom Van der Merwe, Haidee Nel, Guy Du Toit, Brett Murray, Christopher Marvell, Athena Jahantigh, Hylton Nel, Willem Boshoff, Ferdi B Dick, Cobus Haupt, Marie Gourault, Monsieur Cailloux, Shogo Hachikubo, Aris Moore and many, many more.
Which South African deceased artist do you most admire and why?
Irma Stern for her mastery of portraiture and as a pioneer female artist who was initially shunned by the South African art world.
If you could only have one piece of art in your life, what would it be?
Probably Orange, Red, and Yellow or Untitled (Green Divided by Blue) by Mark Rothko
Pick three artists who you would be honored to exhibit with – and why
Jane Alexander, Wilma Cruise and Katja Abbott because they are exceptional artists whose work I love, among many other artists.
How did you get started? Did you always want to be an artist?
I have always been artistic but only found my love of sculpting later in life. In pre-school the kids would queue up for my drawings of ballerinas and horses. I won my first art trophy at the age of 7 and my first drawing prize when I was about 9. In high school I did pottery, but art was not offered. At university I tried to switch to fine art in my third year but could not. For many years I watched the artists in my life from the outside and never allowed myself to entertain the possibility of becoming an artist myself. During the pandemic I started making sculptures while stranded in New Zealand, continuing in my spare time upon my return to South Africa. Sculpting transformed my life and gave me a deep sense of purpose and joy.
With the support and encouragement of the artists around me I began selling my work in late 2022 and have since been able to give sculpture more of my time and energy with my work selling well here and abroad.
What are some of the key themes you explore in your work?
The power of being vulnerable and the process of identity formation. I explore themes of finding the self, embracing being different, having the courage to express joy and naivety, perceptions of gender and the influence of social norms. I engage with the subject of our humanness in a playful way using humour to inspire and provoke.
What should people know about your art that they can’t tell from looking at it?
That the originals are made in clay and the artist is very shy. What are the most essential items in you studio and why?
Clay, light and relative quiet.
Tell us more about your creative process.
I like to make small maquette sculptures in clay or sculpting putty. When I am sculpting I lose track of time - it is my happy place and if life never demanded otherwise I could do it for endless hours. Sometimes I listen to music or a podcast while I sculpt and sometimes I work in silence.
Do you believe an artist should use their platform to influence society? Why?
I love sharing my work and provoking thought and emotions, but I would make my sculptures even if nobody else saw meaning in them. I don’t think all art has to influence society, but if it does and an artist has messages to convey then, yes.
Do you have a favourite or most meaningful work?
Of my own work Sexy Thing, Goggles and Big Kwaaitjie are my favourites. They convey the feelings and thoughts I wanted to share the most succinctly, and their forms please me.
What is your greatest achievement as an artist to date?
Showing up and putting my work and myself ‘out there’.
What are your aspirations for the future?
To continue creating work that is true to me and resonates with others. My dream is to thrive as a sculptor - to keep learning and growing, deepening my practice and thinking, improving my technical skills and expanding my reach. I want to achieve mastery, sustainability and creative fulfilment.
My specific goals include having my first solo exhibition in 2025, showing work in Taiwan and elsewhere in Asia, being represented in new European countries, sending work to more international galleries, and selling enough work to fund the casting of larger sculptures, like Bigger Kwaaitjie and Extra Sexy Thing. I also aim to attend an artist residency program in 2025/2026.
