I am originally from Bellville, in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town. I matriculated from DF Malan High School in 1993, where after I studied Jewellery Design and Manufacture at CPUT, obtaining my NHD in 1997. I worked as a professional jewellery designer for 9 years before leaving the trade in favour of becoming a full time teaching artist.

 

 

 

Apart from my design training, I was largely self-taught, until 2014, when I enrolled in the Greg Kerr Fine Art program. After completing Greg’s program in 2014, I wanted to continue the following year, but I didn’t feel like working according to the suggested theme (food) for 2015. I wrote a brief proposal outlining the theme I would like to base my body of work on. Greg Kerr was so impressed with the proposal that he suggested that I enrol in a Master of Visual Arts program at a university. Not having a BA degree, I had to apply for Recognition of Prior Learning at Unisa and after a process of 18 months I was accepted into the Research Proposal Year in 2016. My Research Proposal was accepted and I started my MVA through Unisa in 2017. I am currently awaiting my results, after submitting my dissertation in January 2019, and having had my MVA Exhibition for examination purposes in March this year.

 

 

 

I initially heard about the Award from an email sent by the StateoftheART gallery to the Department head at Unisa. It was however Jo Roets’ account on the StaeoftheArt website of the special camaraderie formed between last year’s finalists, that really made me want to enter. I think that we as artists necessarily work in isolated environments, and that there truly exists such a need to encourage and support each other.

 

 

 

 

 

I think that the StateoftheArt gallery Award offers an amazing opportunity to emerging artists. As I mentioned earlier, being an artist often means working in isolation, and although social media offers invaluable marketing opportunities, one really does still need the support of a gallery in order to promote one’s work. With so many wonderfully talented emerging artists working in South Africa today, it is becoming increasingly difficult to make one’s mark on the world, and getting one’s name out there remains a challenge. The StateoftheArt Gallery Award is instrumental in offering a breakthrough into the artworld to the emerging artist.

 

 

 

 

I have a studio adjacent to my home, where I work and also teach weekly classes to adult students. When I am not teaching my children and pets gather here in the studio, while I work, as it is the sunniest room in the house. It is not unusual to have the children doing homework surrounded by cats, a dog, canvasses, oils and brushes.

 

 

As an artist I draw my inspiration from the world around me. I have often thought that my work is like a mirror, though sometimes somewhat tarnished or damaged, that reflect my environment. My previous body of work was centred around the Dystopian theme, originating in the time when our country was in the grips of great uncertainty. However, recently my work has taken on a far more environmental theme.

 

 

 

My artistic process has changed quite drastically over the years. My earlier work followed a very controlled, planned process, whereby I would make preliminary sketches which would then be translated into oils. Recently however, I’ve fallen in love with photomontage as technique. So much so that it has now become the genesis of every new work I make; I cut up photographs that I’ve taken of people and places I love and which have meaning to me, and then in an almost subconscious manner I rearrange these snippets into new and peculiar compositions; making strange that which is familiar, and familiar that which is strange. Every completed photomontage will eventually be translated into oils, but first I am enjoying the process of constructing alternate realities, all of this is done while listening to audiobooks, because why can’t one do your two favourite things at the same time?

 

 

 

 

After a visit at the Cape Town Art Fair in February this year, I found it interesting how many pieces of photomontage, collage and textile art where being exhibited. I especially enjoy the work of Marilise Keith, Sitaara Stodel, Hannalie Taute and Jake Michael Singer, as well as Igshaan Adams. Currently my favourite South African Painters include Matthew Hindley, and Hermann Niebuhr.

 

 

The Body of Work, titled Poetry of Decay, which I exhibited as part of my MVA was centred around the South African dystopia as theme. The objective was to capture the aesthetics of the dystopian reality as I saw reality imitating fiction around me over a 2 year period. The South African socio political climate changed so rapidly between 2016 and 2018, that I found myself completely reworking every single painting toward the end of 2018. I found that the later works within the body increasingly started to investigate how we humans are acting toward the natural environment. We live in an age where everything our ancestors accepted as fact are being challenged and changed, these are interesting times, as we move from the static age of liberal humanism into the fluid new posthuman age, as we discover that not only human rights should be valued but also our fundamental attitude to all living creatures. 

 

 

 What do you think South African artists can contribute to the global art market?

 

I believe that South African Artists, now more than ever before, are bringing a fresh approach towards the visual arts. The global art world is growing increasingly more interested in alternative methods of making art. The classic western concept of painting and sculpture is being challenged, the boundaries pushed in search for new fresh ideas for creating art. South Africans have historically been very good at working with what we have, and from a place of what we know, “the Now-here” in other words. I believe that the world is ready and eager to view the world through the eyes of South African artists, and perhaps more importantly, we as artists are eager to share our worldview with others.

 

 

 

Online marketing is a crucial tool for all artists. Now more than ever before it is easier to send one’s work out into the world. However, artists are known for being shy and awkward in self- promotion, I therefore feel that it is of vital importance to have galleries, like StateoftheArt, to promote and guide artists in how to market their work online.

 

 

 

 

I am extremely excited about the group exhibition in September, and can hardly wait to meet the other finalists and to see everyone’s work up close. The quality of this years finalist’s work is of such a high standard, that I honestly do not envy the judges, who must make the ultimate decision. That being said, I think it is an immense honour to have come this far, and wish to congratulate all the finalists and wish them the best of luck for the final round of adjudication. 

 

 

 

I’ve started working on a new body of work, with an altogether new creative process which originates with photomontage and leads to a range of oil paintings. Although this project is still in its infancy, I am very excited about where this process may lead, and look forward to staying the course. As far as teaching is concerned, I am planning a series of weekend workshops for 2020, having cut my weekly classes down to 2 classes /week, and thereby freeing up time to spend more in the studio working on my new project.

 

 

 

As of the start of this year, I’ve started questioning how we as humans in South Africa are responding to the changing concept of what it entails to be human. With the dawn of this new posthuman age, we are realising more and more that everything is connected. As Robert Pepperrell says: “To harm anything is to harm oneself” (Pepperrell 2003:171). I find the notion of the concrete parameters of what we viewed as identity in humanist terms are rapidly changing to encompass not only human but all other living creatures. I truly believe that in the South African context, where we are still battling issues relating to human rights on a daily basis, the investigation into what it means to be (Post) human is a very relevant and interesting subject, and look forward to exploring this theme in my current work. As briefly stated in the questions above, my creative process will start from a more personal place, using photographs I’ve taken myself as genesis for the photomontages, which will eventually lead to oil paintings. Should I have the opportunity to exhibit at StateoftheArt I would like to exhibit these photomontages alongside the oil paintings that develop from them, leading into a narrative of becoming posthuman.

 

 

 

During my 2 year Dystopian journey, I became somewhat obsessed with the colour Phthalo Turquoise – it not only became symbolic of the Dystopian phenomena, but also became my signature colour, so much so that I had dyed my hair Phthalo Turquoise for almost 18months, with the opening of my Masters Exhibition, I died my hair back to my usual black - I had felt ready to cast off the dystopian zeitgeist, and move forwards to new horizons.