I was recently selected to make art in the Tankwa Karoo as part of the Tankwa Artscape Residency 2023. Being out in the desert gave me a lot of time to reflect, to sweat and to respond to the landscape as an artist. For my first piece, I chose the mediums of clay and stone mosaic. I had never worked with these materials before and the concept of being one with, and also separated from the earth seemed appropriate to me as a city dweller in the middle of the vast desert. The first work, name “For But Dust” for me was an acknowledgement of how we are connected to the earth through the common elements, atoms and molecules we share, but also how we are separated from the rocks and sand by the gift of sentience, and how we are able to experience the land differently because of it.
My second work, named “Grounded” explores a similar theme through a smaller-scale stone mosaic sculpture with oil paint finishes. This sculpture was part of my original proposal when I applied to the residency and is based on a 3D print of Imaginary Friend, who features throughout my current body of work.
A massive thank you to this year’s selection committee for allowing me this opportunity, to the organisers, Leli, Kim and JP for their openness and love for the land we worked in, and to the amazing artists that I had the privilege of living with and working beside.
For more information on the Tankwa Artscape Artists Residency, click here