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AN ALLOTTED ROLE (2020)
Table salt, resin, glass, condiment sachets, copper, sterling silver, red turquoise, wooden base. (glass blown by Retief van Wyk)
Collection: Millenium Gallery
DATE NIGHT (2020)
Bronze, bird's eye maple, fabric from 2 used men's shirts.
(1/5 Edition Variable)
16cm x 16cm x 50cmm
MANDELA REDUX
Video
FLOATING (2019)
Material 1, marble filler, blister-pack foil from artist's painkillers and anti-anxiety meds, glass, cement, sterling silver, 18ct gold, pearls, coral
40 x 32 x 27cm
Collection: Brendon Gass
THE BATHER (2019)
Bronze, cement, artist’s shampoo and bathwater from The Trianon Palace, Versailles,
Edition 1/6 (edition variable)
This sculpture, in the traditional style of a bathing nude, sits on a base of white cement mixed with the artist’s bathwater from a sponsored luxury-hotel visit.
FLIPCHART MANTRAS (2019)
Mixed media installation of mantras written on flipchart newsprint and pasted on the walls during my residency at the Cité.
PASSIONS/VULNERABILITIES (2018)
Passions / Vulnerabilities is an ongoing series of altered etchings depicting several of the artist’s friends and acquaintances, women whose lives express the constant duality between their perceived notions of themselves, and the perceptions and expectations of those in their personal and social environments. It is an ongoing project (begun in November 2018). The first etching in the edition of 12 always belongs to the model/volunteer.
MIA
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DATE NIGHT (2018)
1/4 life-size plasticine original before casting in bronze or Material 1
ANNEALED 2017
Silver, 18ct yellow gold, garnet, pearls felted wool, lover's pubic hair
GOLD LEAF
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L’AIR DU TEMPS (2017)
bronze, copper, glass, rubber, artist’s shower water, Parisian dust on fibre
(glass blown by Greg Miller, bronze cast by Wayne Deglon).
The sculpture is in the form of a traditional “vanity dressing table set”, but contains detritus collected by the artist during a two month residency in Paris.
THE ORANGE PEEL VENUS (DIOR) (2016)
Anti-cellulite treatment, beeswax, brass, cement, PU foam, felt.
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The Orange Peel Venus series was inspired by the 25 000 year old limestone fertility figure of the Venus of Willendorf, discovered in Austria in 1908.
Contemporary women are disparaged by the media for having cellulite, in spite of approximately 90% of women 'suffering' from the condition. Ninety percent or 'normal', is presented as 'abnormal' and shameful, in spite of plump, cellulite-ridden bottoms and thighs having been seen at various times in the past as symbols of wealth and beauty in both Western and African societies. Expensive products, apparently designed to minimise 'orange peel', 'cottage-cheese' and 'hail-damage' are incessantly promoted to eliminate the dreaded condition before women's bodies are fit to be exposed to the gaze of others. Paris is often seen as the centre of fashion and beauty, and French women as having the 'solution' to many of these undesirable conditions. These works (a series of 6) contain a variety of French creams and gels designed to combat or reduce cellulite. They were collected during my SANAVA Cité residency in Paris in 2014/15. A mould was made from what is thought to be a resin cast of a museum duplicate of the original limestone Venus figurine. Each duplicate of the original figurine was cast in a combination of beeswax and one of these French cellulite products.
THE VENUS OF DRY SKIN (L’OCCITANE AMANDE) (2016)
Moisturising treatment, beeswax, brass, cement, PU foam, felt.
The Venus of Dry Skin series (2016) was inspired by the 25 000 year old ivory fertility figure of the Venus of Lespugue, discovered in a cave in France in 1922.
Contemporary women are encouraged by the media to exfoliate and remove their dead skin cells as part of the grooming process, and in the process they strip their bodies of natural oils. Expensive products, designed to apparently replace those oils (in the form of moisturiser), are touted as indispensible items for maintaining smooth skins – signs of youth and beauty. Paris is often seen as the centre of fashion and beauty, and French women as the epitome of chic, understated beauty.
These works (a series of 6) contain a variety of French creams, lotions and oils, designed to combat dry skin. They were collected during my SANAVA Cité residency in Paris in 2014/15. A mould was made from what is thought to be a resin cast of a reconstructed museum duplicate of the original ivory Venus figurine.
Each duplicate of the original figurine was cast in a combination of beeswax and one of these French skin products.
GUILT (2016)
Artist's used eye make-up remover pads.
KETO HANDBAG (2016)
Sterling silver, copper, beef tallow, keto sticks, cement, Perspex.
Keto Handbag examines notions of feminine beauty and perfection in both our bodies and our possessions – where we have created a delicate but strong prison of distorted perception and self- criticism.
Ketogenic diets (similar to LCHF, Atkins, Primal and Banting) suggest a return to high-fat diets as being the most effective for both health and weight-loss. During a particularly rigorous period on a ketogenic diet, I urinated on ketone test-strips to monitor and record my daily fat-burning success or failure.
Beef tallow, collected and rendered from ketogenic, high-fat meals, was mixed with a small amount of
beeswax and cast into a mould made from what is thought to be a museum duplicate of the original Venus of Willendorf fertility figure, a prehistoric symbol of health and beauty to a group of our ancestors for whom fat was desirable in both food and figure.
THE BFF SCARF (2016)
Natural wool, friend's hair, artist's hair, sterling silver, copper, cement, PU foam, felt, brass.
The BFF Scarf, felted from natural wool roving and the hair of one of my close friends, explores our poignant yearning, as humans, to share our experiences, and to be understood and accepted. Having a 'best friend forever' is described, in film, literature and clichés, as a desirable experience, richly rewarding, albeit occasionally prickly and uncomfortable.
BFFs can be warm, comforting, suffocating, intolerable and irritating. Confession, forgiveness and penitence form part of many friendships. BFFs theoretically understand, support and love us, sharing our adolescent fantasies while undeterred by the naked truth – often fulfilling our desire for unconditional love. French Belle Époque sculptures of languid, idealised female figures have inspired a pair of sterling silver and copper hair/scarf pins – useful, precious and decorative objects that both ornament and protect – beauty in the midst of sincerity.
THE MAKING(S) OF A SMILE (2014)
Artist's used dental floss, fabric, needle.
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HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? (2014)
Concrete (house construction - Xavier Schorr), leaves, paper, wood, property magazine, film (cinematographer - Lianne Cox - 3min 16sec ) dimensions variable.
This miniaturised version of our home is in the style of the supposedly 'kitsch' post-boxes that were popular in the lower-middleclass suburbs of Bloemfontein, where I was raised. It reflects on the pride expressed by those artisans/artists and 'blue-collar' workers, when their dreams of owning their own home were made concrete.
As artists, and the descendents of a millwright and a stonemason respectively, my husband and I owner-built our home over a 20 year period. This work explores our personal experiences regarding our bank's lack of support during the “Great Recession” of 2008/9, when we were scammed by unscrupulous property developers.
Our miniature post-box home, in concrete, was set alight in a bonfire of garden leaves and bank leaflets which encouraged us to once again to overextend our credit. Unsolicited text messages received from various banks and loan institutions over a two year period, regarding my eligibility for loans, were printed and laser-cut into leaf shapes to include in the bonfire.
The random, indiscriminate nature of the fire that destroyed only part of the house, reflects our personal experience in dealing with banking corporates who appear to have the same unfeeling, random attitude towards their clients.
BARE NECESSITIES
1/4 life-size plasticine original before casting in bronze or Material 1
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Bare Necessities is a series of four works consisting of draped mesh 'scarves' covered with sale tags and supplied spare buttons stemming from clothing I purchased over a number of years. Impulsive purchases, which were often self-justified because of clothing sales/bargains.
INSTANT GRATIFICATION (2013)
“Polaroid” photos of artist’s shoes, bronze, gold leaf, cement
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Instant Gratification is essentially a bronze reliquary container made from a cast of my foot on tiptoe. It is inspired by medieval reliquary containers which were intended to protect and display relics of saints and martyrs. These relics are sacred items that were either parts of the bodies of saints and martyrs, or physical objects that had come into contact with them (such as clothing, a Holy Thorn, a piece of The True Cross or similar relics).
This particular reliquary container contains 'instant', credit-card sized photos of my sixty-five pairs of shoes, mostly purchased on impulse. The work deals with questions surrounding the nature of the 'true relic' in need of display and protection (the actual foot), as well as notions of excess, debt, retail therapy, realism, fetishism, preciousness, worship and beauty. It also seeks to comment on the financial and physical sacrifice women make in their quest for beauty.
MATERIAL HEAVEN (2013)
Artist’s tumble-dryer lint, beeswax, anti-static spray, gold leaf, embroidery thread, wire, cement
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Material Heaven was inspired by the Proto-Baroque painting of Jupiter and Io (c.1531) by the artist, Correggio. While the Correggio painting dealt with sexual passion, Material Heaven considers the ecstasy and passion related to fashion and fashionability. The cloud, which in Correggio's painting represented Jupiter in disguise, is in this sculpture constructed from lint collected from my tumble-dryer over a period of six months and stretched over a hidden wire frame.
The sculpture deals with notions of materialism and materiality. It also tackles issues relating to the transience and mortality of our clothing items – arguably just stuff/raw materials – held together by the 'spin' of the fashion industry. This impermanence with just the brush/illusion of physical contact with the material nature of clothing is symbolised by the anti-static spray on the figure.
TRUTH REVEALED BY TIME (2013/2016)
Beeswax, one month’s supply of HRT medication, cement, gold leaf, Perspex, felt, framed documentation.
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This sculpture is loosely based on a marble sculpture by Bernini – also called Truth revealed by Time – which was never completed. The figure in this wax version contains Hormone Replacement Therapy medication which, while very useful to many women, has led to concerns being raised over side effects such as an increased risk of breast cancer, stroke, blood clots, heart disease, uterine (endometrial) cancer, ovarian cancer and dementia. The framed documents are those of a close friend, whose HRT medication is suspected of contributing to her breast cancer and resulting double-mastectomy.
Modern medicine tends to medicate at the first signs of what is essentially the natural process of menopause, often with little consideration for the 'truth'. The truth being referred to is that about the medication itself and its long term effect on the body. The figure is a plump, healthy classical ideal of beauty as expressed during the Golden Age of the Baroque. The work is an ironic comment on the 'Golden Years' when wisdom and experience should be valued, as the cloth/mask of one's exterior is removed to show the person one has become in middle age. Instead, we are encouraged by the media to remain preoccupied with appearances and performance and to avoid at all costs the natural signs of aging. The work is a comment on mortality and our futile attempts to escape the inevitable ravages of 'time' by all means possible.
TWIN-SET (2013)
Concrete, artist’s hair, sterling silver, rubies.
Twin-set addresses the resources of both time and money expended on human hair and its care and maintenance. My hair, which was shed naturally over a period of approximately six months, was collected and felted into small balls resembling pearls and then used to create a necklace and earring set together with sterling silver and rubies. This 'twin-set', or parure, of jewellery is displayed on a modified cast concrete shop dummy. The text on the torso deals with the financial and social issues surrounding women's hair especially, and the unspoken messages relayed by means of hair and its appearance.
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COSMETIC SELF-PORTRAIT (2012)
Cosmetics on board - foundation, eyeshadows, eyeliners, mascara, lipliner, lipstick and nail varnish - individually framed.
Cosmetic Self-Portrait is a group of 10 idealised self-portraits painted in cosmetics. The source photo was taken as a form of 'selfie' – in this case a self-portrait photograph of the type used on social media where the photograph is often taken from above to enhance the features and minimise wrinkles. Each painting was produced using only cosmetics – and in the sequence in which most women usually apply their cosmetics. The work reflects on vanity and the daily application of paint and powder to enhance both our features and self-esteem – an attempt to look groomed and more attractive as we project an image of self-nurturing and self-respect to the world around us, both physically and on social media.
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BODY BUTTER (2012)
Bath scum, beeswax, hair, wood, Perspex
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Body Butter forms part of a series of works : ‘The Trappings of Success’. For a period of six months the ‘bath scum’ that remained after long baths of the type recommended in popular media, incorporating exfoliation and moisturising/oily bath products, was collected and frozen and then finally mixed with beeswax and cast into a sculpted self-portrait – a classical figure – yet another stereotype of beauty.
My hair clippings were also collected over the same period and used to create a base reminiscent of a coarser, earthier version of the velvet flocking stands used for jewellery displays. The shiny Perspex square implies slick consumerism and the plasticity of both shop displays as well as contemporary expectations/interpretations of beauty. This work won a merit award at New Signatures 2012.
BREAST PLATE (2012)
Cement, silicon breast implant (incinerated), copper, silver, oxide and PU foam
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Breast Plate, forms part of the series: 'The Trappings of Success'. A silicone prosthetic breast (i.e. cosmetic implant) was incinerated and used as part of the aggregate to produce the perfect white breasts (more than 80% of breast implant candidates are white) that link together to form protective armour also reminiscent of the disco chain-mail tops of the 70s and 80s. Silver was used in the links to symbolise the monetary expense and cosmetic/decorative nature of the procedure. The compressive strength of the concrete material adds to the notion of physical protection against social pressure.
This work was the runner-up at the PPC Young Concrete Sculptor Awards 2012.
UNTITLED FIGURE DRAWINGS (2012)
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ASSET MAINTENANCE I (2011)
Sterling silver, copper, wax, artist’s pubic hair, Perspex
Asset Maintenance 1, forms part of a series of works: 'The Trappings of Success'. Research into the motivations behind the grooming and removal of pubic hair, resulted in my having my pubic area groomed at a beauty salon by means of selective waxing. The resultant strips of wax containing the stripped pubic hair were rolled into a shape resembling an iced rose on a cake, and placed within a sculpted sterling silver and copper evening handbag. The work forms a contemporary talisman or reliquary item, and was selected for Sasol New Signatures 2011.
ASSET MAINTENANCE II (2011)
Sterling silver, copper, Perspex, glass bottle, syringe.
Asset Maintenance II forms part of a series of works: 'The Trappings of Success'. After research into the effects and side-effects of Botox, for cosmetic purposes, I elected to have Botox, as well as a cosmetic filler, applied to a frown line. The syringe, needle and glass bottle containing the product were preserved within a reliquary container in the form of a sculpted self-portrait of my eyes as though for a 'masquerade'. Most notable amongst the side effects of Botox, is a the risk of a loss of empathy in subjects who have had extreme treatment, due to an inability to mirror exactly the expressions of others and thereby relate to their emotional experience of a situation. This work was selected for Sasol New Signatures 2011.
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MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS (WEDDINGTIARA) (2012)
Copper, sterling silver, Perspex.
Mergers and Acquisitions (Wedding Tiara) alludes to the expense incurred for the average South African wedding when offset against the 'longevity' of, and happiness within, the average South African marriage.
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POOL RING (2011)
Sterling silver, Perspex, resin
Pool Ring, a large, flamboyant, cocktail ring displaying an idealised pool deck, can be enclosed in, or displayed upon a small Perspex case. The case is laser-engraved with a drawing of the 2010 Bapsfontein squatter camp – similar to 'Plastic View', the squatter camp close to Woodhill Estate. The work is a comment on wealth, the security enclave designed to protect that wealth, and the abject poverty surrounding it.
UNTITLED FIGURE DRAWINGS (2008)
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THE EMBRACE - AN IONIC TABLE (1990)
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UNTITLED (1990)
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THE CHASE (1989)
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UNTITLED (1985)
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UNTITLED (1984)
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