My thought is me: that is why I cannot stop thinking. I exist because I think, I cannot keep from thinking – Sartre
My name is Juan Morne Terblanche, I consider myself a Sartrean and a Jungian at the same time, this is because the goal of both Sartre and Jung is to achieve meaningful existence through development of inner resources, creative exercise of freedom, and overcoming self-deception. I regard myself a philosopher, whose interest in the human race seem cyclical, I have a keen interest in issues of identity, existential philosophy, Jungian psychology, surrealism, art brut, outsider art etc. I am currently busy with my Magister Techonologiae: Fine Art, at the Tshwane University of Technology, where I also obtained my BTech: Fine Art (Theory cum laude) 2009. The rest seems rhetorical ...
Exhibitions:
Faces and Places (Collaborated art exhibition), Springs Art Gallery, 5 – 25 January 2008
OUT-SITE (Group Exhibition), Bodutu Art Gallery, Vaal University of Technology, 3 – 18 August 2008.
Student showcase, Bodutu Art Gallery, Vaal University of Technology, November 2008
Sasol New Signatures Exhibition, Pretoria Art Museum, 26 August – 20 September 2009
Annual degree student exhibition, National Cultural History Museum, 2 February – 19 February 2010
Sasol New Signatures Exhibition, Pretoria Art Musem, 8 September – 3 October 2010.
What is your favourite film of all time?
With the complexity of being me, I don’t have a single favourite film, each favourite satisfies a personal interest. Films that do stand out include; Creation, Frida, Downfall, Hannibal, Silence of the lambs, Volver, As it is in heaven, Pollock, The stoning of Soraya M. etc.
What music are you currently listening to and why?
Not listening to anything specific at the moment.
Which living artists do you most admire and why?
Diane Victor, Marlene Dumas, Anselm Kiefer, Dineo Bopape, Zaneli Muholi, Nandipha Mntambo, Wim Botha. Each artist adds a contribution to gender construction, questioning social norms and ideologies.
Which deceased artists do you most admire and why?
Edvard Munch … Internal agony
What is the question you get asked most frequently about your work and how do you answer it?
I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses -Kepler
What/ who inspired you to be an artist?
I believe I inspired myself! I don’t believe in creating work for the masses, I want to satisfy my own needs; this is why I create art for myself. I tend to become a voyeur in my own private fantasy world.
What do you like most about being an artist?
Narcissistic expression and voyeurism!
What is your greatest achievement as an artist to date?
Being chosen to exhibit my work in 2009 and 2010 at the Sasol New Signatures Top 100
What are your plans for the coming year?
I am currently busy with a theoretical Master’s degree, so definitely finishing my Master’s and taking it from there …