I was born into an artistic family with four older siblings. My brother was fascinated by photography and two of my sisters by art. Currently my third sister has her own jewelry range: Madame Delicious. My grandmother on one side and grandfather on the other were both very creative people. My siblings used to enjoy teaching me about the arts and by the age of seven I wanted to be an artist when I grew up.I have lived in Cape Town my entire life, close to my family, and as I grew older I started picking up a camera, enjoying being behind the lens and not in front! It is an interesting way to see the world, but I felt that there was a barrier between me and all that I wanted to see. Painting has always been a different story. Yes, the interpretation is very wide, but one sits, or stands, with a brush and paint and marks a ‘translation’ directly onto a canvas. Of course it was my sister who introduced me to oil painting. She said I probably had more patience than she did. In high school, oil painting came naturally. In fact, it felt like a relief, and I fell in love with its smooth texture. That is when I started getting messy! I have ruined far too many clothes to count, to my mother’s absolute dismay. In Grade 12, I loosened up and went a contemporary route. At the last minute, everything fell together. It was one of those intense times, when the soul speaks through art, where the physical nature disappeared and art became deep and therapeutic. I retreated into my personal space to find the energy I needed to express a very particular way of thought. Sometimes I have to gather energy, by relaxing for period of time. Other times, energy pours out. I try to explain to others and I believe that they are starting to understand, that for me an artwork is entirely about capturing the precise energy needed to work with a particular piece. Time went on and I was accepted into Michaelis School for Fine Arts at The University of Cape Town. It was an extremely challenging degree and it was only in my final year that I re-learnt how to paint in oils. The lecturers encouraged me with new techniques and I have taken a lot of this with me, in the way I paint today. At the Graduate Show, a collector for the University committee approached me. This has been the hi-light of my artistic career thus far. I have spent the last year working and decided to quit by the end of October. Of course, this was when art came flooding back to me, for which I am very thankful. I will think carefully when embarking on my new journey in 2011, choosing a direction that leaves me with the energy I need to create art. If I could do anything in the world right now, I would study Art Therapy, but unfortunately the course is only offered overseas, making it extremely expensive. One day!
EXHIBITIONS:
Michaelis School for Fine Arts 2009 Graduate Show
What is your favourite film of all time?!
‘City of Angels’. The romance between the characters feels warm and tender. Angels are traditionally dressed in white and have wings. Here, angels live between light and shade, wearing dark coats, without wings. And they can not feel the touch of another. When the angel falls to become human, he feels pain for the first time, and he feels his lover’s touch.
What music are you currently listening to and why?
Colbie Caillat. Her music makes me daydream.
Which living artists do you most admire and why?
Virginia MacKenny. I feel drawn to her deep blue palette, which completely opposes my own. Currently, I relate to an artist who feels the freedom that a particular colour can provide, a nourishing space in which ideas can grow.
Zanele Muholi. She is a photographer who focuses on issues of violence and pride within the gay community. My brother is a photographer at the Mail and Guardian and attended a conference where she was one of the speakers. In his documentation, Muholi speaks with such expression and passion; and her photographs are filled with such strength. Some are filled with beauty, but others equally with ugliness.
Which deceased artist do you most admire and why?
Leonardo da Vinci. There is tenderness about his paintings, a feminine side that is particularly interesting. Many of the women he painted have been said to be physically based on Leonardo himself. People looked up to the artist for the way forward, artistically and scientifically. It seems as if he was one of the heroes of his time. His fascination with flight resounds in me because I have many flying dreams.
Which exhibition that you have visited made the greatest impact on you and why?
Zanele Muholi: "Only Half the Picture", 2006, at the Michael Stevenson Gallery. This was the first exhibition that made me experience completely conflicted feelings. I loved and hated it. There was beauty and there was pain. Something shifted inside me and I realised that it was acceptable for these dualities to exist in art, and in fact that these dualities had the potential to make very powerful work.
What is the question you get asked most frequently about your work and how do you answer it?
Where are you going with your work in the future? I answer it by saying vehemently: “Stay in the present!” But seriously, I hope to find that one idea, that one artwork that I can give every part of my soul to, for the time that I am painting it.
What/ who inspired you to be an artists?
Two of my sisters were mentors for me, particularly one of them. Art was always a lot of fun when I was small. One of my sisters and I had a game where I would pick a colour (koki) and she would have drawn something to represent that colour, for example purple would be a wicked witch. Then I would be the wicked witch.
Can you tell us about where you make your art and what if any the significance of this location is?
I make art in a red room. The carpet is red, the curtains are red and the bed blanket is red. At one point, years ago, the walls were also red. Yes, it was my idea (a long time ago!). It’s no wonder my paintings turn out the way they do at the moment.
What do you like most about being an artist?
Freedom! Therapy! Messiness! Relief! Energy! Result!
What is your greatest achievement as an artist to date?
Selling artworks to the University of Cape Town committee.
What are your plans for the coming year?
Plans are up in the air right now….all I know is that I’m going to keep this art alive!