About
Artist statement
My sculptural practice is a contemplation of my place in, and interaction with, vast cyclic processes of transformation that shape our environment through time. I work with the transformational natures of glass and ceramics, to create experimental amorphous forms, inspired by natural and geological formations. Geological formations reflect the vast timescales of the Earth and show how fleeting our human lifespans are. My practice is concerned with precarity and temporality and is grounded in the perception that the landscape is a body, as much as the human body is, that retains memory, trace and experience. Through my work, I reflect on my personal history and experience of growing up in South Africa, a landscape embedded with trauma and transformation.
I reflect on the traces that are left, and connections that come to be, through encounters. I am interested in how we are constantly involved in interactions, how these interactions through time form a history, and how a history becomes embedded in a landscape. I translate this interest into material explorations using casting techniques that embody cyclic transformation. I seek to develop a narrative of precarity as a collective current state through sculptural forms, layered with traces. Through my practice, I hope to not only convey the interconnectedness and interdependence, but also the commonalities that exist between the human body and the landscape.
Scholarships and Awards
2021: VLUHR, The Flemish Ministry of Education and Training: Master Mind Scholarship
2017: Zuid Afrika Huis: Studiefonds voor Zuid-Afrikaanse Studenten in Nederland
2015: NRF, National Research Fund South Africa: NRF Full-Time B-Tech Block Grant Scholarship
Bio
I was born and grew up in Pretoria, South Africa. I started studying Fine Arts at Tshwane University of Technology in 2012, specializing in glass and sculpture in 2013. I was employed at the Tshwane University of Technology's Department of Fine and Studio Arts as a technical assistant in 2014, a position I held until 2016, and as a part-time lecturer during the 2015 academic year.
I started my Master of Technology degree in 2016, and from August 2017 to July 2018 I received the opportunity to study at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam at the Large Glass Department, which allowed me to conceptually explore and develop my practice. My experience at the Rietveld has encouraged me to develop a more conceptual artistic practice. In 2019, I completed my Master's degree at the Tshwane University of Technology with cum laude.
In 2021, I relocated to Belgium and pursued a Master in Fine Arts at PXL-MAD, graduating in 2022 with distinction. I have been awarded three merit awards namely: The National Research Fund, Final Year Full-Time B-Tech scholarship, The Studiefonds voor Zuid-Afrikaanse Studenten in Nederland from the Zuid Afrika Huis and the Master Mind Scholarship from the Vlaamse Universiteiten en Hogescholen Raad. In 2024, I was asked to become a temporary substitute lecturer at PXL-MAD, offering students support in the glass department.
I have had the opportunity to take part in numerous exhibitions from 2013 to 2024 held in South Africa, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Denmark, and Belgium exhibiting at the Nirox Sculpture Park, the Aardklop National Arts Festival, the Thami Mnyele Fine Arts Awards, at Modern Art Projects in Pretoria, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, at the StateoftheART Gallery in Cape Town and other exhibition locations.
Exhibitions
2024 Gegrond, Emiel van Dooren Museum, Genk
2023 St.ART the Future Kunstenfestival, Blauberg
2022 Exit, Cultuur Centrum, Hasselt
2021 Stateoftheart competition: top 10 finalist, Stateoftheart Gallery, Cape Town
2020 Samtids Kunst gennem Corona, Bornholm
2020 Innibos National Craft Awards: Top 60, Nelspruit
2019 Earthly Bodies, TUT M-Tech exhibition, 012Central, Pretoria
2019 TUT M Tech Duo exhibition: Freedom Park, Pretoria
2019 She Impressions: Victoria Yards, Johannesburg
2018 The Volume :/ is Out of Space, Nida Art Colony, Lithuania
2018 Uncut, Feel and Touch in an Unreal World, Stedeljik Museum, Amsterdam
2017 I am Rooted, but I Flow, Pretoria Arts Association, Pretoria
2017 Nirox Winter Sculpture Fair, Nirox Foundation, Krugersdorp
2016 Cool Capital Biennale, Saadjies, Gorilla Bienalle, Pretoria, Potchefstoom, Richmond
2016 Glass as Conveyor of Image, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria
2016 Diverse, The South African Workers Museum, Johannesburg
2016, 2015, 2014 Thami Mnyele Fine Art Awards: Top 100, Ekurhuleni
2015 Aardklop National Arts Festival, Betwixt and Between, Potchefstoom
2015 Modern Art Projects, Small Temple Monuments, Pretoria
2013 Tshwane University of Technology, Conversations with King, Pretoria
Work in Publications
2024 Gegrond, curated by Caroline Coolen & Greet van Autgaerden
2019 Living Ledgens, Collaboration with TUT, UP and Helen Sibidi
2017 Saadjies, Small is big: Cool Capital Biennale
2016 Craft Arts international No. 96: Dr Gerry King, Lights on the Dark Continent (p53-56)
2015 Modern Art Projects, South Africa: Liesl Roos
