Verskuif/Shift is an exhibition presented by three women artists dealing with the theme of the seen and the unseen, a journey of transformation, and the process/es in between. DIANE DE BEER spoke to the artistic trio about their diverse art and how they came together to show their art:
Thania Louw, Magdel van Rooyen and Martli Jansen van Rensburg all work in different media and it while their art has many commonalities, that’s not what brought them together.
It was the children! They all go to the same school and that’s how the three moms met. Go figure.
However, when you sit around the table with these three artists, what they have in common is the way they approach their art. In their own individual way, they’re telling stories. That’s what all artists do.
While their techniques differ, the common theme is transformation and change. It may be change in the physical body or the internal landscape, or an individual, unique way, each one explores the ideas of intangible internal shifts and how they experience these changes.
These might of course result in relational shifts which might not be immediately noticed or visible, but eventually a sense of movement will result in the awareness of change.
Martli is a glass artist but when you look at her work, you might not immediately be aware that the whole piece is made of glass. For her it’s about scratching around in herself which eventually is given substance in her work. “I’m usually trying to figure out something in myself,” she says. Her work manifests her spiritual journey. “It really is all about my beliefs.”
It might appear as if nothing is happening in her world and as if her ideas are stagnant at some stages, but she sees it as a time of growth while the seeds are dormant until they’re ready to burst forth. Works have titles like Memorial of Remembrance and Rocks of Forgiveness which point the way to her thought processes.
“Our work has to signal possibility, to shift minds,” she says.
Magdel, the painter in the group, is obsessed with construction. Her genre is landscapes and she continually seem to round back to the liminal. She describes her work as moving in-between building up and breaking down.
“Once I have an idea, I chase it down,” she says. While she is a strong believer in hope, she also knows that hope is messy. “Everything is always something of a construction site,” she says. And when you see her work, it all starts making sense.
It almost seems as if she views the world as anything that goes up, must also come down. And in essence that’s true and what she captures in her work. It could almost describe the process of construction followed by collapse.
She plays with words when forming her ideas and discusses the dexterity of concepts like un(bound) which in a sense she believes sets you free and leaves you bound(less) – also the title of her two pictured works. It could also mean that you’re going, or even that you’re intending to go.
Tension is what allows her to play on canvas. We live in tension, it’s inevitable and drives the work. “In fact, we probably thrive on that tension,” says Magdel.
Thania, the photographer in the group is busy investigating emotions, thoughts, behaviour and interaction with her camera as she explores the connections between the conscious and unconscious exhibited in the body. While these are all invisible, she’s interested in how they are experienced from within and communicated to others. Is there a connection?
Questions are part of her investigation, but her story will probably be read differently by those who look at her works of art from a different perspective.
Clockwise: In Bloom; The Vertruvian Woman; and Fragmented by Thania Louw.
It’s how others see you, whether you are influenced by their perspective and whether your body also adopts some of the emotions cast your way?
What does the perfect woman look like? How does she see herself? How does she cope with the storms erupting on the inside?
“What does the world expect from me,” she asks? “Do we fight it or can we find inner peace.”
She has also discovered that beauty can be found in imperfection. “All these things happen in cyclical fashion,” she says as she keeps her camera pointed in a way that might capture the story she hopes to tell.
For these three women, life is a progression and that’s why, even when they tackle dark subjects, they hope their work is always filled with light. No one wants a study of pain in their face all the time, they concur.
The quest is to explore those emotions and then to show your stories to the world in the way the pictures you make demand. This is how they hope their work will prompt viewers to look and discover their own stories.
Verkuif/Shift will be opened by Prof Jenni Lauwrens on August 27 at 6pm at the University of Pretoria @ Link Gallery. Email @ https://louw.co.uk/verskuifshift.html
RSVP for opening by this Sunday. The exhibition is open until Friday, September 6. Entrance Lynnwood Rd, UP main gate. The gallery is open for viewing Tuesday – Friday from 9 – 3 pm. Safe parking available on premises in front of the building.
| ARTIST BIOS: THANIA LOUW She (born in 1984) is a versatile artist and photographer. With a BA Hons in Textile Design from the University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins, where she graduated with distinction, Louw quickly gained acclaim for her work, earning nominations as one of Britain’s top 100 students and participating in prestigious exhibitions such as the 2010 New Designers exhibition in London and Heimtextil in Germany. In 2010 Louw was selected as a student researcher at Central Saint Martins. This led to an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Returning to her native South Africa in 2013, Louw shifted her focus to museology and photography. In 2020, Louw furthered her commitment to the field by completing a BSocSciHons in Heritage, Museum, and Preservation Studies at UP, graduating with distinction. She has been commissioned by prominent private collectors, universities, and museums worldwide to photograph their art collections. Her work has been featured in numerous publications, scholarly articles, and academic papers. She is currently a board member of the International Council of Museums South Africa (ICOM). MAGDEL VAN ROOYEN Magdel van Rooyen (ne Fourie born in 1983) is a process-oriented artist situated in Pretoria. She completed her BA (Fine Arts) degree at UP in 2006 and then her MA (Fine Arts) in 2012. Since 2007 van Rooyen has been teaching part-time at UP in the Fine Arts division, lecturing in different subjects including, painting, drawing, printmaking, and sculpture. In 2010 she was selected for the Art-St-Urban residency based in Switzerland and in 2013 she formed part of the Art-St-Urban exhibition at the Selected Art fair Basel. She was also selected for the R5 Residency with Nagel University in 2013, the residency culminated in a travelling group exhibition Between the Shadow and the Light. The exhibition travelled to various universities in North America from 2014-2018. Van Rooyen has taken part in various group shows in and around Pretoria including at the Pretoria Art Museum and Arts Association of Pretoria. Her work is part of UP’s Collection. MARTLI JANSEN VAN RENSBURG Jansen van Rensburg (born 1977, Pretoria) is an artist, lecturer, and master glassblower. In 2000 she finished her B. Tech Degree at Tshwane University of Technology, where she majored in glass sculpture. From 2000 -2004 she worked and trained at glass studios in the UK, and Germany and did a glass art residency in Scotland. In 2007 she received a scholarship to study glass design in Sweden. While lecturing part-time at TUT, she runs Smelt Glass Studio, with Mike Hyam. Her work has been exhibited internationally at Scotland North Lands Creative, the Museum of African Design, and many more. Her work is part of the permanent collection in Absa Bank, Wits Origin Centre, SAB breweries, and Absa Capital. |
De Beer Necessities 