In the Studio with Mariëtte Kotzé

 

 

 

In this body of work I continue my exploration of abstraction through alternative photography. Focusing on the activity of the artistic process, I create my own internal landscapes through digitizing ink wash movements with a macro lens. My work questions photography by capturing images that can never be created again.

 

 

 

I draw inspiration from Wassily Kandinsky’s writings regarding the spiritual in art, which influenced the work of the Abstract expressionists, as well as Japanese Zen calligraphy, which focuses on the meditative process of art-making and the expression of the subconscious mind. The themes of my work are determined by the unpremeditated end result.  When I started out using this technique it was mainly about the process and experimenting. Currently, looking at the works created after a 4-year period, all abstract in definition, I am able to divide them into categories, differentiating between abstract objects, landscape looking spaces, earth textures and colorful compositions that resemble a mood or song.

 

 

 

 

My scanogram paintings are created through the combination of  ink and water puddling, adding solvents to extend and retard the ink’s natural tendency to bloom and creep, and also changing its colour.  The results are captured using a Dual lens scanner system, acting as a macro lens and paint surface simultaneously.

 

Through my work I aim to focus attention on Time as an ephemeral concept, by allowing the viewer to appreciate the transient moment in full by looking closer. I then shift the focus towards the beauty of accumulated time, where the creative journey and process becomes more important than the end product.