1433 absa 2010 l'atelier catalogue lowres

25 Years!
What a milestone!
This is how old the Absa L’Atelier Art Competition is –
truly something to be proud of and to celebrate.
This year marks the silver anniversary of the Absa
L’Atelier Art Competition and we celebrate the commit-
ment of Absa as a sponsor with SANAVA and our artists.
Absa is proud to have the Alliance Française, the
French Institute and the French Embassy as sponsors
of the Gerard Sekoto Award for the last seven years. We
recognise that patrons are as important in the world of
the arts as shareholders are in the world of ﬁnance.
The works entered for this competition are truly symbols
of freedom and creativity and we are very proud to have
them in the Absa Gallery. We would like to thank all the
artists who created these valuable works of art; they
have made our world a more interesting, dynamic and
socially relevant place. It requires courage and boldness
to achieve this and we applaud them for their efforts.
We hope that this competition will continue for many
years as a platform for all the wonderful artistic talent
in our country.
Maria Ramos
Group Chief Executive
1

The Absa L’Atelier
Award
The Absa L’Atelier Art Competition is presented annually
by Absa in conjunction with SANAVA (South African Na-
tional Association for the Visual Arts). It is a competition for
young artists in the age group 21 to 35 years. Works of art
were selected in Bellville, Bloemfontein, Durban, Johannes-
burg, East London, Port Elizabeth, Polokwane, Pretoria and
Thohoyandou by a local panel of selectors guided by Gwen
Miller on behalf of the National President of SANAVA. The
selected works of art have been sent to Johannesburg for
ﬁnal adjudication.
National selection panel
Gwen Miller
Coordinator of National Selection
Guy du Toit
Pretoria
Theo Kleynhans
Cape Town
Vulindlela Nyoni
Pietermaritzburg
Robyn Sassen
Johannesburg
Air ticket to Paris, France sponsored by Absa
This catalogue has been compiled by Cecile Loedolff,
Art Curator of Absa and Dr Eunice Basson,Senior Lecturer,Unisa
Photography by Richard Hughes
Design and layout by Betelgeuse Advertising
Published by Absa, member of the Barclays Group.
2

In a country where support of the arts is not the norm, this
year’s Absa L’Atelier slogan: ‘creativity takes courage’ is
most suitable.The curatorial team marketed this 25th year
with a gutsy poster of the provocative slogan tattooed
onto a bald head. Apart from having edgy appeal, it also
echoes a calm, yet visceral visual language, which serves
as a challenge to South Africans to commit themselves to
creative expression in art.
As a national encoder of cultural, personal and political
realities,muchoftheselectedworkseemstohavesubversive
strategies, not in loud and shocking ways, but rather in
strangely guarded tones. The exhibition reflects restricted
colour in mostly monochromatic schemes with calculated
contrasts. Absence of colour has the psychological quality
of an otherworldly air, uneasy and reserved. Interestingly,
even the winning work, Reading colour, which has hue as
a coding mechanism, uses colour not in a splashy manner
but devoid of emotional exuberance. Pretoria artist, Ilka
van Schalkwyk’s new media installation reflects intellectual
games with texts that in themselves rebel against
prescriptive institutions.Like the referenced songs that were
defiant in their strategies, this visual presentation becomes
subversive of the social body. The work is a marvellous
example of an open text with multi-layered meaning.
The implicit notion of concealment is also taken up by the
Gerard Sekoto prizewinner, Kwa-Mamkhize, a work that
holds so many possibilities of engagement in relation to
our current society. KwaZulu-Natal artist, Bongumenzi
Ngobese’s hidden parcels under the table signify secrecy,
a lifestyle of makeshift storage systems of a society in
flux. This is a social order of migrants, who have to take
up their belongings and make them fit into any vehicle or,
metaphorically, any culture, to be able to move on. In the
historical Italian movement of the 1960’s, Arte Povera, the
artists’stance was radical and most of the works were aimed
at a critical questioning of establishments such as industry
and government. Similarly, the poverty and insecurity that
is evident in the unconventional use of raw material and
unpretentious formal application in Ngobese’s work could
be interpreted as a rebuke to an upside-down world.
The denial of the original function of household objects
become remediated in many works: a chair, a map,
blankets or ear-buds - all deploy a sense of humour and
surprise elements to open new associations. Strategies
of narration refer to personal politics, localised history,
domestic violence and ecological nostalgia to become
the urban critique. The photographic works reveal
contexts where stories are being re-enacted to play a
prominent role in decoding a site for re-consumption.
Several of the top ten works reference repetitive crafting
with carefully constructed surfaces. There is a sense of a
democratic representation of medium and technique – and
the device that provides the edge is the sharpness of the
idea and appropriate application. Recontextualisation of
familiar things, ‘making strange’, brings the unfamiliar to
the viewer: the observer is given access but is asked to take
a step back and to rethink the experience. It is here where
the artist plays a game with the spectator, reinvigorating
our understanding of the world.
By means of our appreciation of this exhibition we are urged
to shift complacency, to create a space for open critique and
allow creativity to be the encoded voice of our conscience.
Gwen Miller
National Adjudicator
3

Absa L’Atelier Competition, 2010: ‘Thank you and
congratulations!’
On this auspicious occasion, the celebration
of the 25th anniversary of the Absa L’Atelier
Competition for young, emerging visual artists,
the South African National Association for the
Visual Arts (SANAVA) pays tribute to its partner-
in-arts, Absa, its Management and dedicated
personnel for their sustained support during
all these years in hosting what has become a
regular and highly regarded annual event on
the visual arts calendar in South Africa. The
exceptional commitment of 23 years of Mrs
Cecile Loedolff, Absa’s Art Curator, deserves to be
specially mentioned. Conceived and established
in 1985, this prestigious competition continues
in making an immeasurable contribution to
the development and promotion of the visual
arts and visual artists in our country. At the
same time, SANAVA expresses its heartfelt
appreciation to the French Embassy, Institut
Français and Alliance Française in South Africa for
having sponsored the Gerard Sekoto Award for
the seventh consecutive year.
In thanking Absa and the French authorities
for their most valued collaborative role in this
regard, SANAVA also extends thanks to all those
artists who participated in the competition and
warmest congratulations to those who have been
selected as the winning team. It is trusted that
all participants, who obviously display a desire
to express their inner spiritual stirrings and
perspectives in a visual way, may actively continue
to develop this interest. You have the potential to
become role models for the visual arts.
Special words of thanks and appreciation are due
to the personnel, local panels and judges at the
various collection points and in particular to the
National Adjudicator, Mrs Gwen Miller, Head of
Visual Arts at Unisa, who spent valuable time and
efforts in promoting the competition, thereby
making a personal investment in furthering the
cultural wealth of our country.
Anton Loubser
National President
SANAVA
4

Gerard Sekoto (1913 – 1993)
Sekoto was born at Botshabelo near Middelburg
in the former Transvaal on 9 December 1913. His
early paintings depicted scenes from Sophiatown,
District Six and Eastwood near Pretoria.
He left South Africa in 1947 for Europe and
settled in Paris in voluntary exile where he lived
until his death in 1993. As an African Parisian he
always yearned for his South African roots and
identity, which he depicted with much nostalgia
in many of his works.
In Paris and with the support of the loving
French public, doors eventually opened for
Sekoto to explore his own creativity. With this
award we honour Gerard Sekoto. The French
Embassy, the French Institute and the Alliance
Française, felt it appropriate to create such an
award to support the most promising artist with
an income of less than R60 000 per annum. This
award will hopefully open yet another door for
a young South African artist in the city of love
and art, namely Paris.
5

1986 Winner
Penny Siopis
A year after Siopis walked away with the
Merit Award at the prestigious Cape Town
Triennial, she won the coveted Volkskas Bank
Atelier Competition. Her work was at that
stage already well-established as can be seen
in the 1988, 1991 and 1995 Merit Awards she
received at the Vita Art Now exhibitions held
in Johannesburg. Siopis was promoted to
Professor in Painting at the Department of Fine
Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand
where she taught for many years before
relocating to Cape Town at the end of 2009.
To date, Penny Siopis has been involved in
countless solo and group exhibitions as well as
artists’ residencies all over the world. In recent
years Siopis ventured into new media such as
video and film, some of which were screened
internationally on Greek State Television in
2003 and at the Tate Modern in 2004.
In 2000 she received a Swedish Exchange
Fellowship to the Umea University in Sweden,
and in 2001 the prestigious Alexander Onassis
Foundation Fellowship awarded her a research
residence in Greece. In 2002 she received the
best Visual Artist Award at the Klein Karoo
Nasionale Kunstfees. The Ampersand Foundation
Fellowship Residency was awarded to her in
2006 and more recently, in 2008, she received a
visiting residency from the Athens School of Arts
Melancholia
in Greece. Her works are represented in all the
major public collections in South Africa as well
as selected public and private collections in New
York, Washington, Stockholm and Amsterdam.
8

Clive van den Berg
After having taught as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer
at the Department of Fine Arts at the University
of the Witwatersrand from 1989 until 2000, Van
den Berg resigned to become an independent
curator and designer. In 2004 and 2005, he acted
as curator for the prestigious Brett Kebble Awards
but in recent years Van den Berg has been involved
in and working with various architects in South
Africa to design and create new public spaces such
as museums and state buildings. Among his most
recent activities are his collaboration with Urban
Solutions Architects for a series of artworks for
the new Baragwanath Taxi and Bus ranks; curating
and designing the permanent exhibition at the
Women’s Jail on Constitution Hill, Johannesburg;
curating and designing the permanent exhibition
at the Old Fort on Constitution Hill, Johannesburg;
curating and designing of Izipho: Madiba’s Gifts, for
the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg.
Van den Berg has also been involved in a major
architectural project for the Northern Cape
Legislature as well as an outdoor sculpture for the
District Six Project in Cape Town. His environmental
sculptural pieces can also be seen in selected public
spaces in and around Johannesburg. For the past
few years Van den Berg was also involved as Curator Central Park Durban
9

1988 Winner
Diane Victor
Soon after she completed her degree in Fine Arts at
the University of the Witwatersrand in 1986 where
she specialized in Printmaking, she became involved
in teaching at various tertiary institutions where her
inﬂuence as master printmaker and draughtswoman
has been immense. From 1990 to 2007 she taught
as part-time lecturer at Wits Technikon, Pretoria
Technikon,The Open Window Art Academy,Vaal
Triangle Technikon, University of the Witwatersrand
and Rhodes University. From 1991 until 2007 she was
also appointed part-time lecturer in drawing and
printmaking at the University of Pretoria.
She has exhibited in major group exhibitions
since 1988 when her work was first selected
for the prestigious Cape Town Triennial. The
most notable recent group exhibitions in
which her works have been included are Out
of Africa exhibition at the Cork Street Gallery
in London in 2007, Flesh, which was exhibited
at the KKNK in Oudtshoorn in 2007, a group
show at the Amaridian Gallery in New York
in 2007 and in the same year her works were
included in the Busan International Print
Show in Busan, Korea, the International
Graphiztriennale at the Wien Künstlerhaus
in Vienna, an exhibition of South African Art
at the Danubiana Art Museum in Bratislava,
Slovakia an exhibition in Paris, France and
one in Sydney at the Barry Keldoulis Gallery
entitled South Africa on Paper.
The problems of being a god these days
Important recent solo exhibitions include her
Smoke Heads exhibition at Michael Stevenson
Contemporary in Cape Town in 2005 and a show
at the Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg in 2006. An
acclaimed exhibition of her most recent sepia and
ash drawings as well as superb dry-point etchings
was held at the Goodman Gallery in May 2010.
Diane Victor’s most recent and coveted awards for
her work are: The Sasol Wax Award Winner in 2002
and in 2005 she received the Gold Medal for Visual
Art from the South African Academy of Arts and
Science. In 2006 she received the Statutory Award
of MTG at the Krakow Print Triennial in Krakow
Poland.
1010

Hennie Stroebel
Stroebel completed his Higher Diploma in Fine
Arts in 1985 at the former Natal Technikon. He
is renowned for his ceramics and he now also
heads the Ceramic Department at the Durban
University of Technology (DUT). Stroebel held two
successful exhibitions in 1992 and 1993 at the
Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg and in 1995
his work was included in a group show entitled
‘Exhibition by Natal Artists’ which was featured
at the Durban Art Gallery.
Stroebel was also instrumental in curating an
exhibition entitled ‘Common Ground’ in July 2007,
which showcased recent work of six ceramic
artists who all studied under the guidance of this
renowned master ceramist. In March last year
he participated in a major group exhibition by
staff of the DUT, which also included John Roome,
Andries Botha and Chris de Beer amongst others.
In recent years Stroebel’s creative interests
expanded to include fibre into his ceramic works
such as stitching and embroidery.
Stroebel is preparing for a major exhibition,
By night
1111

Barend de Wet
During the nineties, Barend de Wet was a
prominent figure in the South African artistic
arena winning awards for his work at the Vita
Art Now Awards in 1992. His works was also
represented at the Sao Paulo Biennale in 1994. In
recent years De Wet, who studied fine art at the
Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of
Cape Town and now lives and works in Knysna,
has been using his body as a vehicle for artistic
expression. But he is also known as a sculptor,
painter, photographer and as a conceptual artist.
Much of his work is underpinned by irony and
wordplay. In 2005 a land art piece in cut-out steel
of the word ‘God’, which was erected on a bridge
near Plettenberg Bay, created huge controversy in
the rural community of that area. His exhibition
at the Muti Gallery in 2006, entitled Different
strokes for different folks, featured sculpture,
1990 Winner
The last drunken supper
1212

Virginia MacKenny
MacKenny has been in the teaching profession
for well over twenty three years, first at the
Durban Institute of Technology in the Fine Art
Department where she taught Painting, Drawing
and Art Theory. More recently she was appointed
senior lecturer in Painting at the Michaelis School
of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town. In
2001 she received an MA in Gender Studies and
in 2004 MacKenny was awarded the Ampersand
Foundation Fellowship Residency in New York.
Apart from her teaching responsibilities
MacKenny’s creative and research interests focus
on painting, video and performance art with
particular reference to gender issues and identity.
In 2007 she was one of the national selectors
for Spier Contemporary and in 2008 she held a
successful solo exhibition at the Irma Stern Museum
in Cape Town. Her works are represented in selected
From the dark it is so
1313

Paul Edmunds
Edmunds received the Volkskas Bank Atelier
Competition in the year after he received his BA
Fine Arts degree in 1991 from the University of
Natal in Pietermaritzburg. In 1996 he graduated
with an MA Fine Arts cum laude, from the same
university before relocating to Cape Town where
he has been actively working as one of South
Africa’s foremost visual artists. He has presented
many solo and group exhibitions and in 2007 he
won the coveted Tollman Award.
His well-received solo exhibitions include the
1999 exhibition entitled Scale, which was shown
at The Mark Coetzee Fine Art Cabinet in Cape
Town, which was followed by Cloud in 2003 at
João Ferreira Gallery, Cape Town and Phenomena,
which was exhibited at the same gallery. In 2007
his critically acclaimed exhibition entitled Array,
was shown at Art On Paper in Johannesburg and
more recently in 2008 his exhibition, Aggregate,
was exhibited at the Bank Gallery in Durban.
In recent years Edmunds has been involved in
important commissions, notably a large outdoor
artwork for the Arabella Sheraton Hotel in Cape
Town, which he completed in 2003. In 2005
MTN commissioned him to do a large-scale
work for their new headquarters in Roodepoort,
Johannesburg. In 2005/6 Edmunds was involved
in a beadwork initiative known as Qala/Coeo. Ib
2009 One and Only of Cape Town commissioned
1992 Winner
Filletcoat
two works. His works are represented in major
public collections in South Africa as well as The
Museum of Modern Art in New York.
1414

Dominic Thorburn
Thorburn was promoted to Professor and
head of the Graphic Section and Director of
the Fine Line Press & Print Research Unit at
Rhodes University. He was also the recipient of
a Fulbright Scholarship in 1992, which enabled
him to attend the Tamaring Institute at the
University of New Mexico where he completed a
Prefessional Printer Program.
In September 1998 Thorburn was the convenor
of the First South African Printmaking
Conference and in 2003 he was the co-convenor
of the 3rd Impact International Printmaking
Conference, which was held in South Africa.
His interest in collaborative printmaking
motivated him to establish the Fine Line Press,
a unique tertiary-based printmaking press and
research unit. Thorburn is very active in arts
administration as well as community-based
outreach programmes. His research interests
1993 Winner
Carbon black & old brown
1515

Jonathan Comerford
1994 Winner
Riding the South Easter
Comerford, who completed his studies at the
Ruth Prowse School of Art in Woodstock, Cape
Town in 1985, established his own printmaking
studio known as Hard Ground Printmakers in
Cape Town where his studio provides technical
support for artists living and working in Cape
Town. In 2005 he completed a Postgraduate
Diploma in Printmaking at the UCT Michaelis
School of Fine Art in Cape Town. He works in
all the diverse techniques printmaking has
to offer, ranging from etching, mezzotint,
lithography, silkscreening, linocuts, etc.
Comerford has taken part in many important
international Print Biennales as well as
exchange programmes and has been selected
as a resident artist at the Grafische Werkstatt
im Traklhaus in Salzburg in Austria.
Jonathan Comerford is presently residing and
working as a master printmaker in London where
he is establishing himself in the British art world. In
2008 his work was shown in two exhibitions, one
being a collection of his linocuts, which he published
under the auspices of his Hard Ground Printmakers.
1616

Kevin Roberts
Kevin Roberts, who received his Higher Diploma
in Fine Arts from the Technikon Pretoria in 1990,
launched his career as painter and sculptor
after having won important awards such as
the Schweickerdt Prize for the most promising
student in 1987 and in 1988, the Innes Aab-
Tamsen Prize for Painting. His fine paintings,
in which he explored intricate patterning,
craftsmanship and elements of ‘the beautiful’,
were richly layered with recurring symbols.
After having won the Volkskas Bank Atelier
Competition, he was also awarded the Kempton
Park/Tembisa Fine Art Award in 1996. In 1999,
Roberts’ work was represented in London at the
artLONDON ’99 Fair in Chelsea. In 2000, the first
of several solo exhibitions was presented at the
Everard Read Gallery in Johannesburg where his
work received widespread acclaim. His works are
represented in all the major public art collections
in South Africa. Kevin Roberts sadly passed away
Import/export after Piero Della Francesca
1717

Nkosinathi Khanyile
1996 Winner
Amasiko Ma-Afrika Amasiko
In 1999 Khanyile was a nominee for the FNB Vita
Art Now Prize as well as the recipient of the coveted
Commonwealth Art and Craft Award. In 2000 he
was the winner of‘Our Heritage Image’Award,
which was initiated by the Fine Art and Culture
Development Co-operative in Pietermaritzburg.
In 2000 Khanyile spent time in Holland as part of an
exchange programme entitled Holland South Africa
Line, which resulted in an exhibition in Amsterdam
as well as a further exhibition at the William Fehr
Gallery at the Cape Town Castle on his return.
The Commonwealth Award enabled Khanyile to
travel to Australia where he taught at Midland
College,Tafe as well as at the Edith Cowan University
and at the Western Australian University. He was
also involved in the Perth International Arts Festival
in 2001.This engagement enabled him to facilitate
a group of township youths from Umlazi to visit
Australia on a cross-cultural exchange.
Khanyile’s international proﬁle as one of our
foremost South African artists, has been further
broadened through his participation in exhibitions
in France, Australia, Holland, Germany and the USA.
In 2001 the artist was commissioned to build
the Emakhosini (The Valley of Kings) Heritage
Monument and was also selected as one of the
judges for the FNB Vita Art Now Competition.
1818

Ilse Pahl
Since winning the Volskas Bank Atelier Competition,
Ilse Pahl’s work has been working in a variety of
media on selected public commissions such as a big
mosaic commemorating the life of Dr David Webster,
who was gunned down in front of his house on the
1 May 1989 by former Apartheid security agents.This
work covers most of the front wall and gate pillars
of the Webster property in Troyeville, Johannesburg.
In a most recent commission in 2010, she and fellow
artist Lehlogonolo Mashaba completed artwork for
the Mine View Station for the new BRT transport
system. In 2000 Pahl was selected for a residency at
the Thami Mnyele Foundation Studio and in 2003
she refurbished the well-known Spark Gallery in
Johannesburg where she also exhibited selected
found objects such as cheap ceramic ornaments and
other objects. In this exhibition Pahl explored the
functions of mass-produced decorative domestic
objects that form part of local visual culture. Her
work was recently included in an exhibition entitled
Visible Visions at FAXX in Tilburg in Holland.
Shelf-life no 2
1919

Karl Gietl
Gietl, who is a painter at heart, presented
his first exhibition in 1994 after which he
started exhibiting extensively both in South
Africa and abroad. In 1995 his work was
exhibited at the Pretoria Art Museum as well
as at the Contemporary Museum of Modern
Art in Santiago, Chile. His stay at the Cité
Internationale des Arts in Paris created an
ambience for him to spread his wings and from
1999 to 2002 Gietl traveled widely and stayed
and exhibited his work in France, Germany,
Holland and Belgium. After a short stay in
Spain, he returned to South Africa in 2003.
He celebrated his return to his country with an
exhibition at the João Ferreira Gallery in Cape
Town entitled Bringing it all back home, which
was well received by the critics. In 2004 he
presented his first of several solo exhibitions in
Johannesburg at the Alliance Française entitled
1998 Winner
Untitled titles
2020

Ryan Arenson
Arenson had his first solo exhibition in 1998 and
has been working as a full-time artist ever since.
His work is included in major public and private
collections in South Africa and abroad including
the Johannesburg Art Gallery, the Durban Art
Museum, Biliton, JCI, Absa and Appletiser.
In 2004 Arenson held a successful exhibition at
The Premises Gallery in the Braamfontein Theatre
Precinct, Johannesburg entitled Pierneef: Black,
White and Coloured in which he questioned
socio-political concerns evoking skin variations
on which Apartheid was modeled.
In October 2008 Ryan Arenson first engaged with
printmaking at the David Krut Workshop, which
resulted in a solo exhibition entitled Book of Ruth.
He drew his inspiration from two seminal works
by Dürer and Picasso, which he translated into
linocuts, etchings and monotypes.
It is especially his labour-intensive drawings
and his use of line and mark-making, which
distinguishes Arenson’s work. This was well
illustrated and displayed in an exhibition which
was held in April 2010 at the David Krut Projects
in Johannesburg entitled Hard Work, which
spans the last fifteen years of Arenson’s career.
This exhibition allowed the viewer to gain
insight into his thematic concerns and processes
1999 Winner
To Die for
2121

Brad Hammond
Hammond, who now lives and works in
Australia and who is internationally acclaimed
for his video and film art, has a long list
of important solo and group exhibitions.
His videowork was selected in 2002 for an
exhibition at Le Centre Art Contemporain de
Basse-Normandie in France and curated by the
Trinity Session. In 2003 his work was included
in an exhibition entitled Energy Kunstlerfilme
von 1920 bis heute, which was showcased at
Museum Volkwang in Essen, Germany. In the
same year an exhibition entitled Tracking, was
held at the Bathurst Regional Gallery in New
South Wales, Australia. In 2004 his work was
shortlisted for the National Works on Paper
Award from the Mornington Peninsula Gallery,
Victoria, Australia and his work was also
acquired for the permanent collection. In 2005
he exhibited video and encaustic paintings at
the well-known Brian Moore Gallery in Sydney.
His exhibition entitled Dialogues, was exhibited
in 2008 at Art First Contemorary Art in London.
Hammond’s works have been recognized
internationally as he was shortlisted for the
Fletcher Jones, Geelong Contemporary Art Award
in 2006 and in 2008 he was a finalist for The
Waterhouse Natural History Art Award. Hammond
2000 Winner Inner city
2222

Stefanus Rademeyer
Since completing his six months’ residency at
the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris in 2002,
Rademeyer briefly returned to South Africa
but was awarded the Ampersand Foundation
residency in New York in 2003. His works were
also included on a group exhibition hosted
by Warren Siebrits entitled The Ampersand
Foundation 1997-2003. In this prolific year
Rademeyer presented a solo exhibition at the
Warren Siebrits Modern and Contemporary Art
in Johannesburg entitled Surface Depth and an
exhibition at the Wits Art Gallery entitled
20:20 Mapping Trajectories.
In 2006 he returned to the Warren Siebrits
Gallery where he presented his second solo
exhibition entitled Ideograph in which he
explored his concerns with structural geometry.
This exhibition was acclaimed for its abstract
visual representations. For this exhibition
Rademeyer was guided by his reading of selected
theorists whose ideas centre on the complexity
of structures such as Deleuze, Heidegger Laing,
Mimetic reconstructions
2323

Marco Cianfanelli
After graduating with distinction from the
Department of Fine Arts at the University of the
Witwatersrand, he brieﬂy taught as part-time
lecturer in Design at the Parktown College for
Vocational Education, before launching into a
full-time career as
artist. His interests lie
within looking at the
possibilities of selected
artistic interventions
within the public realm.
This involves other
professionals from diverse
ﬁelds such as artists,
designers, architects and
engineers. He is presently
involved as member of
the design team for The
Freedom Park Project in
Pretoria. Cianfanelli has
been awarded several
important residencies
abroad and he has
exhibited widely in South
Africa as well as abroad. His most recent exhibitions
in South Africa include the 2009 Contemporary
sculpture in the landscape, which was hosted by The
Nirox Foundation in Johannesburg as well as the
2008 exhibition presented by the Unisa Art Gallery
in Pretoria entitled Interventions.
2002 Winner
In 2009 Cianfanelli acted as a Regional Judge for
the Absa L’Atelier Competition and in 2008 he was
a selected Judge for the Sasol Wax Art Competition
from 2006 until 2009. He acted as Art Adviser for
the Sasol Art Collection.
His recent commissions for 2009 include work for
the Pieter Roos Park in Hillbrow, the University of
Johannesburg, the Durban International Conference
Centre in Durban, work for the Tokara Wine Estate in
Stellenbosch and two works for Absa.
2424

2003 Winner
Bleak
Aggenbach’s work was featured at the Joburg Art
Fair in 2008 by the João Ferreira Gallery, which
showcased her work that was exhibited at this
Gallery in her solo exhibition entitled Sub Rose.
Her artistic concerns and research centres around
issues of cultural heritage and the process of
nostalgia and/or historical myth-making, which
she dresses in satire and parody.
B
p y
Sanell Aggenbach
Aggenbach lives and works as a full-time artist
in Cape Town where she works in various media
namely painting, sculpture and printmaking. She
has participated in many solo as well as group
exhibitions in South Africa. In 1999 to 2000 she
was selected for the UNESCO-Aschberg residency
programme at the Sanskriti Kendra in Nieu-Deli,
India. She lectured at the Cape College from mid-
2000 until 2004 before taking up her residency at
the Cité Internationale des
Arts in Paris, France. In 2005
Aggenbach was nominated
for a Kanna Award at the
KKNK in Oudtshoorn and in
the same year she curated
an exhibition entitled Sweet
Nothings at the Bell-Roberts
Gallery in Cape Town as well
as being selected for the third
Brett Kebble Award.
2525

2004 Winner
Conrad Botes
Botes has been a frequent participant in
group exhibitions as well as important solo
exhibitions since he won the L’Atelier Award.
His venture with Anton Kannemeyer of the
notorious Bitterkomix has won him wide
acclaim both locally and internationally. His
first solo exhibition took place at Michael
Stevenson Contemporary in Cape Town in May
2007 where a large-scale installation of carved
and painted sculptures was exhibited entitled
Satan’s Choir at the Gates of Heaven. Apart
from this installation, other works in a variety
of media were seen on this exhibition such
as a comic strip plus fifty eight reverse-glass
painted panels and a painting on canvas.
In 2008 Botes’ work was included in
an important group exhibition
namely the Third Guangzhou
Theatre of cruelty
In 2008 Botes’ work was included in
an important group exhibition
namely the Third Guangzhou
Theatre of cruelty
Triennial in China and in 2009 he was selected
as the festival artist for the 2009 Aardklop Arts
Festival in Potchefstroom.
In the same year Botes launched his Cain and
Abel comic strip, which was later reworked into
a series of reverse-glass painted panels. In these
works Botes reflects on the origins of violence.
More recently, Botes presented a successful solo
exhibition at Fred in London in March/April 2010.
His work has also been selected for the 17th
Biennale of Sydney, which will take place from
12 May until 1 August 2010. The work that he has
been producing for Bitterkomix has been included
on an exhibition at MU Eindhoven, The
Netherlands entitled… for those who
live in it: Pop culture, politics and
strong voices. This exhibition
opened in May 2010.
2626

Berco Wilsenach
After completing his formal studies at the University
of Pretoria,Wilsenach has exhibited both locally
and internationally and has been awarded several
residencies abroad.
He is currently teaching as a part-time lecturer at the
Department ofVisual Arts at the University of Pretoria.
In 2008 he exhibited at the Bell-Roberts Gallery in
Cape Town and the work featured formed part of his
bigger project entitled Project for a blind astronaut. In
this exhibition entitled In die sterre geskryf,Wilsenach
examines the accessibility of language as medium. In
these works he developed a coding system presenting
star charts as pincushions whilst all symbols have
been cartographically accurately represented to reveal
the constellations to the blind astronaut.
2005 Winner
In the same year his work was represented at
an exhibition at the Unisa Art Gallery entitled
Intervention.This exhibition looked at different
systems and how these systems operate – systems
of transport, communication, social structures,
mechanical and systems of control and how a new
generation of artists interact, embrace or reject
these systems in and through their work.
Diadema Mathẽma
2727

Ruth Sacks
Before she launched into her career as an artist, Ruth
Sacks taught as a part-time lecturer at the Michaelis
School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town as
well as at the Ruth Prowse School of Fine Art.
Apart from her own creative work, Sacks has
been very active as an arts administrator.
From 2003 until 2004 she was the Project
Administrator for Iziko Museums of Cape
Town’s Democracy X exhibition at the Castle
of Good Hope. In 2006 she was selected as
the Cape Town Coordinator for the Trienal
de Luanda in Angola. In the same year she
participated in a group exhibition entitled 1st
Architecture, Art and Landscape Biennial of
the Canaries at Los Lavaderos, Tenerife. After
her six months stay at the Cité Internationale
des Arts in 2007, Sacks was awarded a further
three months residency in 2008 at the Iaab
International Exchange Program in Basel,
Switzerland, sponsored by Pro Helvetia. She
currently resides in Brussels, Belgium where
she is part of the HISK (Hoogere Instituut van
Don’t panic
2828

Pierre Fouché
Since being declared overall winnner of the
Absa L’Atelier Competition, Fouché presented a
solo exhibition at the Bell-Roberts Gallery in
Cape Town entitled Convoluted involvement. He
has also taken part in various important group
exhibitions notably The Bijou burns again, UCA
in Cape Town in 2008, The Gift in collaboration
with Liza Grobler, which was exhibited at the
Irma Stern Museum in Rosebank, Cape Town,
Signs/Representation at the 14-1 Gallerie in
Stuttgart and an exhibition at the KKNK entitled
Obsessie. His work was included for the show
entitled 1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective,
which was hosted in March/April at the Iziko
South African National Gallery in Cape Town.
Fouché’s work interrogates the dynamics of
personal relationship and society’s desire to
categorise or classify its members. His research
interests centre on personal and family
photographs, which he deconstructs away from
the immediacy of the photographic image, by
breaking down the image into small building
blocks only to be reassembled into a screened
2007 Winner
The distance between us III
2929

2008 Winner
James Webb
Webb comes from a totally diverse academic
background having studied for a BA, majoring in
Drama and Comparative Religion at the University of
Cape Town. In 1999 he also completed a Diploma in
Copywriting.What makesWebb’s work fascinating is
that he is a pioneer of sound art in South Africa where
he also works as a teacher, curator and as designer.
After his sojourn in 2009 at the Cité Internationale
des Arts,his expertise in this creative ﬁeld has been
widely acknowledged by numerous important
residencies worldwide,viz a residency at the Visby
International Composers’Centre in Götland,Sweden
in 2009,a residency at the Stiftung kunst:raum sylt
quelle,in Sylt,Germany in the same year as well as
another residency in Germany in 2009 at KIT:Kunst
im Tunnel in Düsseldorf to name but a few.This year
will seeWebb travelling to Norway for yet another
residency at USF Verftet in Bergen,Norway plus a stay
at l’Appartement 22 in Rabat,Morocco.
Webb has collaborated in many group exhibitions
and has presented five solo exhibitions thus
far. Another solo exhibition in Cape Town will
be staged in 2010 as part of the Blank Projects
entitled One day, all of this will be yours.
Auto hagiography
3030

Stephen Rosin
2009 Winner
The devil makes his
Christmas pie from
politicians’ tongues
and bankers’ fingers
(2008)
Rosin, who is known as‘the pie-maker from Plett’,
completed his BTech in Fine Arts at the then Port
Elizabeth Technikon before entering the family pie-
making business, hence the nickname.
From 1996 to 2000 his work featured on
selected group shows in the Eastern Cape as
well as in Cape Town. In 2007 his work was
again exhibited at a group exhibition in Kynsna
entitled Art for sale. In the following year Rosin
was amongst the Top 10 Finalists of the Absa
L‘Atelier Exhibition and in the same year his
work was featured at the Aardklop Arts Festival
in Potchefstroom.
Rosin’s research interests lie within contemporary
geopolitics, consumerism and globalism. He is also
highly critical of the mechanisms and manipulation
of economic and financial power usually held by
just a few individuals as can be seen in his winning
work entitled The devil makes his Christmas pie from
politicians’ tongues and bankers’fingers.
3131

Pretoria
Reading colour
Mixed media installation
200 cm x 200 cm x 200 cm
3232

Merit Award
Bellville
Dias-series
Photography
(Triptych)
a) 78 cm x 54,5 cm
b) 78 cm x 54,5 cm
c) 78 cm x 54,5 cm
3333

Pretoria
Skin disorder
Oil on canvas
122 cm x 121 cm
Merit Award
3434

Merit Award
Collen Maswanganyi
Johannesburg
Voko ranawu ri lehile/Long arm of the law
Wood and acrylic paint
132 cm x 107 cm x 79 cm
3535

Johannesburg
Die Judasbok/The Judas goat
85 cm x 190 cm x 134 cm
Merit Award
3636

Durban
Kwa-Mamkhize
Mixed media
76,5 cm x 56,5 cm x 44,5 cm
3737

1. Vincent Bezuidenhout 2. Abri de Swardt
3. Sibusiso Duma 4. Philiswa Lila 5. Maja Marx
3838

6. Collen Maswanganyi 7. Bongumenzi Ngobese
8. Ilka van Schalkwyk
9. Lyle van Schalkwyk 10. Hanje Whitehead
3939

Antelme, Linda Birgit
Pretoria
Life-lines
Mixed media
(Diptych)
a) 190 cm x 73 cm x 84 cm
Profile:
Antelme was born in 1987 and is currently studying BA(FA)
at the University of Pretoria.
Description of artwork:
Life-lines is an installation of multiple cardboard sculp-
tures. These ‘trees’ consist of their trunks and primary
lateral branches only with their growth rings exposed on
the surface.What was once alive and rooted is now trans-
ported all over the globe in the form of boxes and crates.
Trees are valuable for their importance in our survival, but
consumerism is killing off forests by the hour.
studying BA(FA)
4040

Arendse, Grant
Bellville
Baptism
Digital photography
53 cm x 60 cm
Profile:
Arendse was born in 1988 and is currently studying BA(FA)
at the University of Cape Town.
Baptism questions religious faith, the experience of ‘be-
lieving’ and why/how this belief manifests itself in an
individual.
4141

Bahmann, Dirk
Johannesburg
Lifetrace 12 (sectional reading)… elusive
and ephemeral Jozi…
Mixed media
166,5 cm x 89 cm x 32 cm
Profile:
Bahmann was born in 1974. He obtained a BAS degree at
the University of the Witwatersrand as well as a BArch at
the same university. He has participated in several exhibi-
tions and received several awards.
This work continues an ongoing exploration into a read-
ing of the idiosyncrasies that define Johannesburg’s spirit.
As a place, Johannesburg resists a wholesome, easy un-
derstanding of its landscape, which hinders both a physi-
cal and metaphorical navigation through it.
Jozi’s nature is ephemeral and elusive in that it is charac-
terised by a continuous erasure, rewriting and overwrit-
ing of its landscape. Its boundaries are persistently con-
tested. Its origins hidden and everything is animated with
a sense of speed.
The work is a personal attempt to assimilate and digest
the quicksand rush experience of Jozi as it projects itself
onto the retina of Bahmann’s mind. It is a fragmentary
reconstruction of that projection as a cosmological map-
ping of his mindscape of the city that he inhabits.
4242

Baker, Meredith Ann
Pretoria
Behind simple things you will find me
Mixed media
Profile:
Baker was born in 1987. She obtained a BTech degree in Fine
and Applied Arts at the Tshwane University of Technology,
Pretoria.
This work is not a direct reflection on society or beauty
but it is a reflection on how Baker defines beauty. To
feel, touch and smell skin, can become a controlling fac-
tor in our lives. Once in a lifetime, one can feel uncom-
fortable in one’s skin.
4343

Bezuidenhout, Vincent
Bellville
Scorched earth policy
Photography
77 cm x 113,5 cm
Proﬁle:
Bezuidenhout was born in 1978. He studied for the National
Diploma in Photography as well as for the BTech degree
in Photography at the Central University of Technology,
Bloemfontein. He is currently reading for an MA(FA) at the
Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town.
Scorched earth policy is a military strategy ﬁrst employed by
the British Empire during the Anglo Boer War (1879-1915) in
South Africa. It comprised the burning and destruction of
crops, homesteads and farms, the poisoning of wells and
the internment of Boer and African women, children and
workers in concentration camps.
The Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town was built at an
estimated cost of between R3 and R4,5 billion for the 2010
FIFA World Cup. During this process, homeless people
were removed from the site without providing alternative
accommodation and a large portion of what used to be a
public green space has now been annexed by FIFA.With this
image he I wanted to investigate the relationship between
the historical dominance of European Colonialism in this
country against the current ‘policy’ of corporate Western
greed and exploitation of emerging economies.
4444

Blignaut, Candice Dawn
Bellville
Here and there, now and then
Mixed media
Profile:
Blignaut was born in Johannesburg in 1974.
Sometimes one feels like a number and sometimes less
so. This painting relates to integrity, standing alone and
sometimes stronger in company.
4545

Bosch, Steven
Johannesurg
Torch
Photographic print
Profile:
Bosch was born in 1978 and obtained a BA degree in Busi-
ness Communication, cum laude from the North West
University, Potchefstroom. He also completed his MA de-
gree in Development Communication at the same univer-
sity, which he obtained with distinction.
Symbolically, doves are complex creatures that can be
linked to ideas of peace, hope, love, purity, innocence,
knowledge, sacrifice, migration, the Diaspora or freedom.
In Torch, the dead dove is seen as a light, a flicker of hope,
but also a flame of aggression.
Figuratively a torch is a symbol of a cause or an ideal that
needs to be protected and maintained. The term torch-
bearer also conjures up the inspiring image of a heroic
person who is a frontrunner for a cause. But in South Afri-
can society torch-bearers also become synonymous with
unrest, protest and riots. As such, this artwork becomes a
dichotomous relic: an object from a deceased (holy) per-
son’s body, kept in reverence and for its characteristics.
4646

Bosman, Johan Wolfaardt
Polokwane
Composition 6 (girl)
Acrylic on glass
Profile:
Bosman was born in 1987 and is currently studying for
his BTech degree in Fine and Applied Arts at the Tshwane
University of Technology, Pretoria.
This artwork deals with the contemporary battle
with utopianism and its destruction of ‘true’ reality.
Therefore the artist created a new hyper-reality for the
human race.
4747

Bosman, Johan Wolfaardt
Polokwane
Composition 5 (dog)
Acrylic on glass
This artwork deals with the contemporary battle with
utopianism and its destruction of ‘true’ reality, where the
dog becomes the symbol of nature and its connection
with humanity.
4848

Brophy, John Robert
Johannesburg
The trolley
Mixed media
Profile:
Brophy was born in 1980 and completed his NSC at the
National School of the Arts. He also obtained a diploma
for 3D animation from the Boston Media House.
The work is a small trolley compiled out of found objects.
4949

Burchell, Jenna
Pretoria
Stem
Interactive installation
Profile:
Burchell was born in 1985 and studied BA(FA) at the
University of Pretoria.
Through building spaces that illustrate the mental ‘in-
scape’ of individuals, Burchell aims to play with barriers
of visual imagery to find new ways to portray images of
people in their context.
This interchange is often created through electronically
interactive objects stripped down with bereft aesthet-
ics, parodying the hard technology with organic beauty.
While surrounded by such a flux the viewer can find in
their own mind how each artwork can exhibit the multi-
layering of ‘self’ in communication or miscommunication
with ‘other’.
5050

Cachucho, Eduardo Filipe Rodrigues
Johannesburg
Collections 1, 2 & 3
Digital prints
(Triptych)
a) 59,4 cm x 60 cm
b) 59,4 cm x 60 cm
c) 59,4 cm x 60 cm
Profile:
Cachucho was born in 1985 and studied BArch at the
Witwatersrand University, which he obtained cum laude.
He also obtained a MArch Professional degree from the
Witwatersrand University.
Collections represents three infamous designers: (1) Vic-
tor and Rolf, (2) Viviénne Westwood and (3) DSQUARED2.
They represent haute couture, new wave punk and pop
fashion respectively. Portraits representing the person-
ality and presence of the designers are abstracted to
the point just before illustration. Collections tries to
make sense of rampant consumerist culture.
5151

Chauke, Phula Richard
Polokwane
To be angry is dangerous
Wood and paint
(Diptych)
a) 38 cm x 13 cm x 21 cm
Profile:
Chauke was born in 1979 and completed grade 10 at the
Malenga High School. He has participated in the Absa
L’Atelier Exhibition in 2009.
The artist portrays domestic violence by showing how
the grandfather beats his grandson as he failed to let
the cattle graze. He also depicts his grandfather’s anger
with his brother.
5252

Chorn, Genevieve Sarah
East London
Transfiguration: Sleeping figure
Mixed media
Profile:
Chorn was born in 1987 and studied BA(FA) at Rhodes
University, Grahamstown. She has participated in the
Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2009.
Chorn focuses on the processes of change, growth and
renewal. The human skin, which constantly regenerates
itself, is used as a metaphor for personal transformation.
5353

Coetzee, Gerhardt
Port Elizabeth
Open space I & II
Photography
(Diptych)
a) 69 cm x 95 cm
Profile:
Coetzee was born in 1983 and studied for the BTech de-
gree in Photography at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan
University, Port Elizabeth. He has participated in the Absa
These works expel the overt fixation with the ‘other’ from
documentary photography, while allowing a degree of
our voyeuristic delight to remain intact. In the silence of
such absenteeism ‘architecture of time’ presents itself,
where the weathering of unseen and unimportant histo-
ries descends into even finer states of nothingness. In a
sense, the spaces photographed, the photographs them-
selves and their embedded meaning, all remain open-
ended, enshrouded by uncertainty.
5454

Danca, Welcome S’phiwe
Durban
God helps those who help themselves
Acrylic on canvas
Profile:
Danca was born in 1978 and obtained a National Diploma
in Graphic Design at the Durban Institute of Technology.
He has participated in several exhibitions, including the
Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2008 and 2009.
A priest visited a Sangoma for a consultation. Priests
do not condone visits to Sangomas. By visiting the San-
goma the priest wants to portray the fact that he is an
ordinary human being and his church followers should
respect him and come to church.
5555

De Jesus, Angela Vieira
Bloemfontein
Rear window
Video installation
Profile:
De Jesus was born in 1982. She studied BA(FA) as well as
MA(FA) at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.
She has participated in several exhibitions, including the
Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2004 and 2005.
The video installation investigates the hesitant and fear-
ful manner in which we observe and encounter each oth-
er in our social microcosms. The videos provide a safe dis-
tance of observation for the viewer. They offer voyeuristic
glimpses into other people’s lives yet at the same time
they adumbrate the fear-inspired mannerisms that have
become so potent in our daily dealings. They are entrap-
ping and unsettling and they suggest feelings that can be
directly related to incidences of violence, suspicion, para-
noia, apprehension and agoraphobia.
5656

De Kock, Margo Janneke
Bellville
Wholesome
Digital print
5757

De Kock, Margo Janneke
Bellville
Bouquet
Digital print
Profile:
De Kock was born in 1985 and studied BA Visual
Communication Design at the University of Stellenbosch.
Description of artworks:
Both these works were originally drawn in pen, ink and
watercolour and then digitally composed. It was intended
to form part of a series of illustrations where words were
chosen randomly from a dictionary. The illustrations were
inspired by the words. The words ‘wholesome’ and ‘bou-
quet’ relate to the image but at the same time juxtaposi-
tion is created.
5858

De Swardt, Abri Stephanus
Bellville
Dias-series
Photography
(Triptych)
a) 78 cm x 54,5 cm
b) 78 cm x 54,5 cm
Profile:
De Swardt was born in 1988 and is currently studying
BA(FA) at the University of Stellenbosch.
Dias is a series of three site-speciﬁc photographs;
Bartholomeu Dias I :The Sao Christovoa anchors,Bartholomeu
Dias II: Treading upon an unshod shore, and Bartholomeu
Dias III: The vindication of Adamastor (after Salvador
Dali and Luis Buñuel), that retrace the first colonial ven-
ture into Southern Africa. Shot in situ in Mossel Bay, De
Swardt performed Bartholomeu Dias in a re-enactment
of his landing in 1488 to problematise the hegemonic
masculinity that stems from conquests such as this.
5959

De Villiers, Karlien
Bellville
I met history once
Profile:
De Villiers was born in 1975 and studied BA(FA) in Graphic
Design as well as MA Information Design.
The installation I met history once deals with the complexities
of history in a post-colonial society like South Africa and is
especially concerned with the forces and tensions of memory,
urban renewal and what lies ‘beneath’ the city facade –
focussing specifically on CapeTown,where many urban spaces,
specific histories and local identifications are rebranded and
packaged to meet the tastes of a generalised elite,imagined in
terms of cosmopolitanism and globalisation.
6060

Duma, Sibusiso Robert
Durban
I am dancing with my shadow
Acrylic on canvas
Profile:
Duma was born in 1977 and is a self-taught artist. He has
participated in several exhibitions.
The artist loves his shadow as it is always there.Whatever
he does, his shadow does the same.
6161

Duncan, Suzanne Elizabeth Beavan
Bellville
Doilies I
Human hair
Profile:
Duncan was born in 1981 and studied BA(FA) at the
Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town. She
has participated in the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2008
where she was chosen as one of the top ten finalists. She
also participated in the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2009.
The hair in this piece is knotted into unnatural geometric
shapes; these objects concern the ever-present adaptation
of women’s bodies into contrived states. The artist used her
own hair as an example of the constant attempt to control
our bodies, the attempt to ﬁt into social structures as well
as the hierarchy of body matter, such as the removal of body
hair in particular areas and the styling and romanticising of
other hair.
6262

East, Anthony David
Bellville
The problem with being God these days
Mixed media
Profile:
East was born in 1980 and studied BA(FA) at the Michaelis
School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town. He has partici-
pated in the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2009.
The work is a visual play on a quotation often attribut-
ed to Albert Einstein: ‘If bees were to die out, mankind
would only have four years to live’.
An origami bee was made and folded from very thinly
rolled silver, coated in gold. It addresses perceived val-
ues and complex fragilities that can easily be over-
looked. It also questions notions of preservation and
power over the environment.
6363

Erasmus, Brendon
Pretoria
The earth gives birth to her dead
Mixed media
Profile:
Erasmus was born in 1988 and studied for the National
Diploma in Fine Arts at the Tshwane University of Tech-
nology, Pretoria. He is currently studying for the BTech(FA)
degree at the same institution.
The title of the work refers to conjectural and dogmatic
events. The events amplify an ‘insistent feminist voice’,
moaning as her sepulchral zero hour commences, and
audible to those who listen intuitively.
6464

Erasmus, Marthinus Stephanus (Stephan)
Johannesburg
Land/Soundscape
Paper
Profile:
Erasmus was born in 1976. He studied for the National
Diploma in Fine Arts at the Witwatersrand Technikon as
well as for the BTech(FA) degree at the Witwatersrand
Technikon. He also completed a Masters degree in Fine Arts
at the University of the Witwatersrand. He has participated
in several exhibitions, including the Absa Atelier Exhibition
in 2000 as well as the Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2004,
2006 and 2008,where he was selected as one of the top ten
ﬁnalists. In 2009 he was selected as a Merit Award Winner
of the Absa L’Atelier Art Competition.
Theworkexploressimilaritiesin thestructuresoflandscapes
and soundscapes in their physical reconstruction. The
construction of this Land/Soundscape uses the lyrics from
‘Nobody’s Baby Now’ by Nick Cave, as a starting point. The
text was selected as it draws a parallel between the artist’s
current exploration of land and muse.The work explores the
problematic relationship focusing on ideas of ownership of
the country through the encryption of selected text into a
visual format.
6565

Erasmus, Nicole Lauren
Durban
Memory box
Mixed media
Profile:
Erasmus was born in 1986. She studied for the National
Diploma in Fine Arts at the Durban University ofTechnology.
She is currently studying for the BTech(FA) degree at the
same institution.
Each slip cast has a paper memory placed inside it, in-
accessible to the viewer. The bottles are containers for
memory, representing the way we compartmentalise
memories. Often we are not able to access things as they
are forgotten as our thoughts become vague.
6666

Erasmus, Nicole Lauren
Durban
Embalm
Mixed media
Erasmus has wrapped found objects in gauze, reminis-
cent of a web-like structure. The work speaks of trying to
preserve precious material objects in an attempt to hold
on to memories associated with the objects.
6767

Foli, Jessica Philile Mawuiena
East London
Self-portrait I & II
Mixed media
Profile:
Foli was born in 1988 and is currently studying BA(FA) at
Rhodes University, Grahamstown.
These self-portraits play on the stereotypes surrounding
skin colour, ethnicity and ‘blackness’ in particular. The one
self-portrait’s features are distorted to resemble those
of a monkey. This work also plays on the stereotypes of
‘black’ people being compared to monkeys.
6868

Fuller, St John James ZairPretoria
Swart gevaar trumps
Mixed media
Profile:
Fuller was born in 1974 and studied BA(FA). He has
participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa
L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Swart gevaar trumps is a blend of urban myth and re-
ality. Real people have been presented with traits that
have been assigned to them without any rational foun-
dation. These qualities are completely fictional. Each
subject has been evaluated with the utmost prejudice
in mind. No one is seen with any redemptive qualities.
6969

Gauntlett, Alice Frances
Bellville
Nothing but
Photography
Profile:
Gauntlett was born in 1988 and is currently studying
BA(FA) at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of
Cape Town.
Based on Alice in Wonderland the work reflects the mo-
ment of relief and wildness when you accept your fears
and dismiss them.
7070

Gauntlett, Alice Frances
Bellville
Dominance
Photography
This work deals with some of the imagery of anorexia and
eating disorders, trying to keep it away from body issues
yet remaining in the lexicon.
7171

Geldenhuys, Amber Jade
Johannesburg
Grey as you go 1, 2 & 3
Digital prints
(Triptych)
a) 86 cm x 63 cm
b) 86 cm x 63 cm
Profile:
Geldenhuys was born in 1982 and studied for the National
Diploma in Fine Arts at the University of Johannesburg.
She is currently studying for the BTech(FA) degree at the
same university.
This work has been shot through the artist’s car window
while raining and also refers to her presence as the un-
seen observer. The prints are each a still that form part
of a narrative, working sequentially to enhance meaning.
She attempts to show how people affect each other with-
in the context of post-colonial South Africa, underneath
the umbrella of big business.
Grey as you go, still No 1, depicts the anticipation of an-
other figure entering. Still No 2, depicts how the other
person’s energy or matter eclipses the first figure in pass-
ing and how the two figures pretend not to acknowledge
each other. In still No 3, there is an increased distortion.
Profile: of a narrative, working sequentially to enhance meaning.
7272

Grobler, Liza
Bellville
Easy access scarf
Old keys and chain
Profile:
Grobler was born in 1974. She studied BA(FA) as well as
MA(FA), which she obtained with distinction from the
University of Stellenbosch. She has participated in sev-
eral exhibitions, including the Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in
2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009.
Easy access scarf is a visual pun on the feather boa as-
sociated with the good life and high society. In South Af-
rica, even more so than in most other places, daily life is
ruled by locks, gates and burglar bars. The saying holds
true that one can measure a person’s responsibilities by
the size of their bunch of keys. One carries the weight of
your duties quite literally: the more VIP entry points, the
heavier the load. This holds true for all of us: by believing
that whatever is locked away is safe and saved, we ironi-
cally feed our own personal claustrophobia.
7373

Gutter, Pauline Gertruida
Bloemfontein
Boer soul
Oil on wood
Twenty-one-part
30 cm x 24 cm each
Profile:
Gutter was born in 1980 and studied BA(FA) at the
University of the Free State, Bloemfontein. She has
L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
and 2009.
The Boer soul portraits are all part of a series of paintings
that depicts ordinary farmers.These common farmers annu-
ally attend the Nampo Harvest Day at Bothaville and this is
where Gutter went to capture their unique facial features
in order to bring them to life in oils. They appear relaxed on
their day out; randomly they emerge surprised at her ap-
pearance to seize the moment of their personal space.
7474

Hatherly, Sasha Clare
Port Elizabeth
Untitled
Photographic print
Profile:
Hatherly was born in 1986 and obtained the BTech degree
in Photography from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan
University, Port Elizabeth.
The photograph illustrates a panoramic image made out
of two images, which have been ‘stiched’ together digital-
ly. It depicts an abandoned air-force base and an old mili-
tary vehicle, which has been discarded against a fence. On
the horizon the modern structures of the working airport
can be seen while the buildings, which once housed many
military aeroplanes and vehicles, are left to deteriarate.
This place where old abandoned structures and devices
of a former system have been laid to rest invokes a sense
of sadness. The anticipation of the future juxtaposes
visually in this image, which has been altered to create a
heightened feeling of antiquity and lost stories.
7575

Hewson, Daniel Peter Glyn
East London
Series – school killings
Dry-point print
(Diptych)
a) 56 cm x 67,5 cm
Profile:
Hewson was born 1987 and is currently studying BA(FA) at
Rhodes University, Grahamstown.
This body of work using notions of surveillance looks at
killings and acts of violence at schools in South Africa.
This series uses new technology such as Google Earth and
transfers it into a traditional print form.
7676

Hofmeyr, Juliet Anne
Johannesburg
Noise
Video
Profile:
Hofmeyr was born in 1977 and studied BA Arts and Culture
at Unisa.
Video is about how communication is interrupted by
technology. The phone is an obstacle to communication.
It is so disgusting that one does not want to touch it but
the message might be important. The machine (phone)
instructs the protagonist to switch the camera (the
viewer) off, while we are not watching – it devours us.
The film raises questions about our obsessive need for
technological advancement and its effect on our lives.
7777

Janse van Rensburg, Danélle
Johannesburg
Rooikruis/Red Cross
Wood
Profile:
Janse van Rensburg was born in 1985 and studied for the
National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Tshwane University
of Technology, Pretoria. She also obtained a BTech(FA) de-
gree from the Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria.
She has participated in several exhibitions, including the
Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2008.
The connected little girls in a piece such as Rooikruis/Red
Cross offer a voice to the lost (and found) connections
with oneself, others and the environment. The little girls
represent stillness and contemplation in a modern soci-
ety completely lost in noise. Stillness is all.
7878

Profile:
Keyser was born in 1985 and studied for the National Di-
ploma in Fine and Applied Arts at the Tshwane University
of Technology, Pretoria. He has participated in several ex-
hibitions, including the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2008.
In the past, it seems people were very proud of their work.
You worked for your meagre income and you created your
own happiness. Today it is as if everybody complains and
nobody is happy anymore. Die werk is die dans presents a
world where you do the work that you enjoy.
Keyser, David Johannes Petrus (Duif)
Pretoria
Die werk is die dans
Bronze and mild steel
7979

Laue, Alhyrian Albert Bishop
Port Elizabeth
The scales caress the teeth
Mixed media
8080

Laue, Alhyrian Albert Bishop
Port Elizabeth
We will trust the hands from this lower position
Mixed media
Profile:
Laue was born in 1985 and obtained the BTech(FA) de-
gree with distinction from the Nelson Mandela Metro-
politan University, Port Elizabeth. He has participated in
the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2008 where he received a
Merit Award.
The research and thinking surrounding the work exam-
ines recontextualised objects in the realm of art as indi-
vidual signifiers. The anthropogenic origins of these ob-
jects, in their new context, still signify the functions they
once performed but in the assemblage they gain poten-
tial for new interpretations.
Profile
8181

Lila, Philiswa
Pretoria
Skin disorder
Oil on canvas
Profile:
Lila was born in 1988 and studied for the National Diplo-
ma in Fine and Applied Arts at the Tshwane University
of Technology, Pretoria. She is currently studying for the
BTech(FA) degree at the same institution. She has partici-
pated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L’Atelier
Exhibition in 2009.
Skin disorder is based on the artist’s theme of painting
skin – Animal skin from sheep, goats and cows. It made
her think of the different skin diseases and how each one
of these animals’ skin differ.
8282

Lüneburg, Nathani
Pretoria
Contrap(c)tion
Mixed media
Profile:
Lüneburg was born in 1982 and studied BA(FA) at the
University of Pretoria. She also studied MA(FA) at the Uni-
versity of Pretoria. She has participated in several exhibi-
tions, including the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2004 where
she was selected as one of the top ten finalists. She also
participated in the Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2005 and
2006. She was selected as a Merit Award Winner in 2006.
She also participated in the Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in
2007 and 2009.
This artwork represents the aesthetics of contemporary
time in terms of technology versus the traditional ar-
tistic representation of the female body. Today’s tech-
nologically advanced culture, almost replaces tradition-
al beauty (the female body) with one of undecorated,
yet attractive, geometrical solids (technology).
8383

Luvhimbi Mushe Japhter
Polokwane
The power of love
Wood
Profile:
Luvhimbi was born in 1982 and completed Grade 12 at the
Hermen Technical School. He is a self-taught artist. He has
participated in the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2006.
This sculpture depicts a man shielding himself from a mon-
ster with a love shaped spear. This symbolises where there
is love, there is power. In a marriage based on true love the
spouses protect each other from HIV/Aids,degradation and
abuse unlike in a marriage based on material love.
8484

Marx, Maja (Neé Pfeiffer)
Johannesburg
Pile: Feint & margin
Blankets
Profile:
Marx was born in 1977 and studied for the BTech(FA) de-
gree at the Technikon Pretoria. She also obtained a MA(FA)
degree from the University of the Witwatersrand. She has
L’Atelier Exhibitions in 1999, 2000 and 2008.
Pile: Feint & margin, is an installation piece consisting of
a large exercise book; and a selection of custom printed
blankets. Each empty page in the book is represented by
a blanket printed with a margin and faint lines. The work
is displayed with its front cover folded open to resemble a
bed. In South Africa, the blanket forms an intrinsic part of
the traditional culture and heritage. It is also seen as an
important agent in most marriage ceremonies, processes
of bereavement, the coronation of leaders and initiation
ceremonies. It also features prominently in the language
of daily travel and in historical or heritage citations such
as the Basuto culture, with its Seana Marena and Victoria
England blankets, as well as the Ndebele people with the
Umbalo blanket.
8585

Maswanganyi, Collen
Johannesburg
Voko ranawu ri lehile/Long arm of the law
Wood and acrylic
Profile:
Maswanganyi was born in the village of Noblehook, Giyani,
in 1977. He obtained the National Diploma in Fine Arts at
the Technikon of the Witwatersrand. His father, the well-
known sculptor Johannes Maswanganyi, taught him
woodcarving. He has participated in several exhibitions
nationally and internationally. He was selected as one of
the top ten ﬁnalists of the Absa Atelier Exhibition in 2001.
The Long arm of the law is like a neck of a giraffe that sees
things from far and eats the leaves from the highest branch.
The long arm of the law catches the high ﬂyers and smart
criminals who think they will easily cover their tracks.
k, Giyani,
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hibitions
s one of
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hat sees
t branch.
d smart
8686

Mdluli, Andile Koketso
Johannesburg
Eccentric teapot addicted to trash and murder
Ceramic
8787

Mdluli, Andile Koketso
Johannesburg
Eccentric teapot addicted to trash and murder
Ceramic
14,5 cm x 30 cm x 14 cm
Profile:
Mdluli was born in 1984 and did a course in ceramics.
Mdluli’s work portrays war and violence and how we have
accommodated it in our daily lives. The work relates to
how we use war, killing and violence in the name of de-
mocracy. We know that it exists and happens around us
but we continue with our lives and tell ourselves that it is
not our problem, not realising that it is there because of
our acceptance of it.
8888

Moys Anthea Julian Dineo
Johannesburg
Playing with Pirates: Leap into the…
Photography
8989

Johannesburg
Playing with Pirates: Scoring a try
Photography
9090

Johannesburg
Playing with Pirates: Scrum
Photography
Profile:
Moys was born in 1980 and studied BA(FA) as well as
MA(FA) at the University of the Witwatersrand. She has
In Playing with pirates, Moys worked with the Pirates Jun-
ior Rugby team. In this performance she plays the role of
the ball.Throwing oneself into unfamiliar territory always
involves risk. It asks of both performer and participant to
engage in a shared space of play. For modern humans, this
is a risky proposition, for there are no winners or losers in
this rugby game. The outcome is the experience.
Profile Description of artworks
9191

Naidoo, Shogan Ganas
Johannesburg
Monitor emitting light
Video installation
50 sec
Profile:
Naidoo was born in 1986 and studied BA(FA) at the
University of the Witwatersrand. He is currently reading
for an MA(FA) at the same university.
His work explores an encounter that could be considered
banal. It is the encounter between a viewer and their
television set. This encounter takes place daily and
without reflection. In his work he wishes to reflect on this
encounter, reconstructing the unconscious pact between
viewer and image on television as site of trauma or a form
of representational violence.
9292

Nanise, Zwelethu Zandisile
Johannesburg
Family portrait
Charcoal and linseed oil on paper
Profile:
Nanise was born in 1985 and is currently studying for
the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the University of
Johannesburg.
His drawings explore WJT Mitchell’s notion of the image
as a living thing. He looks at old family portraits and tries
to assess how one can connect the present with the past.
9393

Ngobese, Bongumenzi Sibongiseni
Durban
Kwa-Mamkhize
Mixed media
Profile:
Ngobese was born in 1987 and studied for the National
Diploma in Fine Arts at the Durban University of Technol-
ogy. He has participated in several exhibitions.
His work deals with migration and identity. He explores
and questions political issues surrounding migration
and identity particularly in the informal settlements.
Through his investigation, Ngobese looks at social activi-
ties shaped by people who move from one location to an-
other. He explores how social activities impacts on space
and how space impacts on people.
9494

Norval, Anet
Durban
Bryer: Rooi, ribbok, ram
Mixed media
Profile:
Norval was born in 1980 and studied for the BTech(FA)
degree at the Durban University of Technology. She is cur-
rently reading for an MTech(FA) degree at the same uni-
versity. She has participated in several exhibitions, includ-
ing the Absa L’Atelier exhibitions in 2005, 2006 and 2008.
In 2006 she was selected as a Merit Award Winner of the
Absa L’Atelier Art Competition.
The work consists of three pieces of knitted blocks, which
was knitted by Norval’s mother. The different images re-
flect a rhyme she used to say as a child to practice to say
the letter ‘r’. When an Afrikaans speaking person cannot
pronounce the letter ‘r’ correctly it is known as ‘bry’. The
soundplay therefore, could also reflect on the idea of knit-
ting but the chosen imagery displays the rhyme.
9595

Ox, Mea
Pretoria
Soft restraint
Mixed media
Profile:
Ox was born in 1986 and studied for the BTech(FA) degree
at the Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria. She is
currently reading for an MTech(FA) degree at the same
university.
In the work Soft restraint, softness and warmth is played
off against coldness, involvement against detachment
and the need to control against the inevitable inability to
control. The use of the cotton buds suggests a softening of
edges, enveloping warmth, a cocooning effect. Conversely,
restraint implies a restriction and limitation of movement,
action or emotion and an avoidance of excess. Soft restraint
refers to the restriction – a ‘softening’ of deviant behaviour
by means of medication, cognitive therapy, self-restraint
or suppression.
9696

Ox, Mea
Pretoria
Ablution
Mixed media
(Four-part)
a) 48 cm x 48 cm
b) 39,5 cm x 39,5 cm
c) 35 cm x 35 cm
Ablution refers to the incessant removal of the unwanted,
the uncalled for and the unpleasant; the control of ex-
cess, the taming of the unruly and the eradication of the
socially unacceptable. In this context the word ‘ablution’
refers not only to the cleansing of the body or religious
purification, but also to the psychological ablution and
the social grooming that the individual is subjected to (or
subjects herself to).
9797

Pretorius, Alet
Pretoria
Silo
Photography
71,5 cm x 96,5 cm
Profile:
Pretorius was born in 1980 and studied BJourn at Rhodes
University, Grahamstown. She has participated in several
exhibitions, including the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2009.
This photograph falls into the category of Pictorialism.
A ‘soft’, ‘dreamy’ almost painting-like effect is created by
movement, a shallow depth of field and a softer focus.
This form of photography was widely practised in the
early years of photography when photographers tried to
imitate painters.
9 ,5
9898

Pretorius, Lorinda Samantha
Port Elizabeth
Uncontrollable imagination
Glass, oxide and sandblasting
9999

Profile:
Pretorius was born in 1987 and studied for the National
Diploma in Fine Arts at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan
University, Port Elizabeth. She has participated in several
On each piece of glass a part of the form is depicted to
create the illusion of a complete three-dimensional form
once all the sheets of glass are arranged in a specific or-
der. These abstract forms are illusions of many phobic
thoughts.The fear that something bad is going to happen
is often not true. These thoughts are illusory.
Pretorius, Lorinda Samantha
Port Elizabeth
The marvellous deceives too
Glass and oxide
100100

Qapa, Dinisile
East London
Saturday morning
Oil on canvas
Profile:
Qapa was born in 1976 and studied BA(FA) at Rhodes
University, Grahamstown. He has participated in several
exhibitions, including the Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2001
and 2004.
The painting reflects the true story of Saturday morning,
15 August 2009. The work depicts a shack burnt down.
Qapa helped with its rebuilding. The woman lying on the
sofa is the owner of this shack; here she is relaxing af-
ter so many hours of hard work. Outside one can see the
evidence of the damage caused by the fire. For now she is
safe and looks forward to start all over again.
101101

Qapa, Dinisile
East London
Taxi rank
Oil on canvas
This painting shows the busy taxi rank in East London with
lots of business activities taking place around the area.
102102

Rihlampfu, Nkhensani Herald
Pretoria
Self-portrait
Ink on paper
Profile:
Rihlampfu was born in 1988 and is currently studying for
the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Tshwane Univer-
sity of Technology, Pretoria.
Rihlampfu depicts his own face thereby trying to high-
light the ordinary man and how special every man is.
Ordinary people are important in their own world and
therefore he wants to glorify them and bring them to the
attention of the public.
103103

Rissik, Olivia Jade Alexandria
Port Elizabeth
The Grim brothers: Colonel Mustard and Bully Beef
Mixed media
(Diptych)
a) 150,5 cm x 32 cm x 37 cm
Profile:
Rissik was born in 1987 and studied for the National Di-
ploma in Fine Arts at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan
University, Port Elizabeth. She is currently studying for her
BTech(FA) degree at the same university.
This body of work consists of sculptures representing
characters influenced by the weird and unnatural. The
concept behind the characters is the darker side of fanta-
sy, a realm existing between nightmares and science fic-
tion. Rissik’s characters live in the plains of Livian, a world
that exists entirely in her mind. It’s a place she travels to
whether by conscious decision or not. She finds herself
visiting it in her dreams and waking moments; it is a part
of her, realised in a thought. The characters relate to that
part of her which is the darker ‘other’. Whether directly or
indirectly, they form Livian and she created it.
104104

Salzwedel, Heidi Liesl
East London
Urban interactions (Hammer)
Profile:
Salzwedel was born in 1986 and studied BA(FA) at Rhodes
University, Grahamstown. She is currently studying for a
Postgraduate Certificate in Education at the same university.
The city of Grahamstown depends on the National Arts
Festival for a significant part of its annual revenue, yet
beneath the facade of diversity in arts and culture that is
temporarily crammed into one city bowl, is the reality of its
fluctuating unemployment rate; oscillating between sixty
to eighty percent.This reality, which is evident to local civil-
ians, is highlighted in the mixed media installation.
105105

Sibiya, Jose Bambo
Johannesburg
She holds a knife by the blade
Embossed etchings
(Diptych)
a) 110,5 cm x 81,5 cm
Profile:
Sibiya was born in 1986. He studied a three-year course in
Printmaking at the Artist Proof Studio.
f l Description of artwork:
She holds a knife by the blade portrays social family issues
where the man uses his strength to abuse women. Sibiya
grew up under such circumstances. He had an alcoholic
family member and his sister ended up on the streets as a
result of these issues.
106106

Smit, Frans Johannes
Bellville
Room by the hour
Oil on canvas
Profile:
Smit was born in 1976 and studied for the National Diplo-
ma in Photography at the Technikon Free State, Bloemfon-
tein. He has participated in several exhibitions, including
the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2008.
Room by the hour portrays a bedroom, which refers to
the Afrikaans saying ‘As die mure kon praat’.
107107

Snodgrass, Stacy Lee
Port Elizabeth
Fine dust series
Glass
(Five-part)
a) 18 cm x 13 cm
b) 18 cm x 13 cm
c) 19 cm x 14.5 cm
d) 18 cm x 14.5 cm
Profile:
Snodgrass was born in 1987 and studied for the National
Diploma in Fine Arts at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan
University, Port Elizabeth.
Snodgrass explores the concept of female sexuality in re-
lation to cells and how they function. Cells are what we
are made of. It is the blood and flesh of our physical being.
To translate the idea she uses images of microscopic pol-
len as a metaphor for female sexuality and fertility. She
looks at how women are perceived, specifically sexually.
Breasts, ovaries and uteri identify them as seed carriers
or vessels.
Pollen means fine dust in Latin and relates to the medium
and method of Pete de Vere, where glass is crushed into
a fine powder, then melted down to become solid again.
The forms are deliberately made very thin and fragile to
show the broken segments and cracks in the glass, which
refers to the vulnerability of nature.
108108

Steyn, Antonia Digna
Bellville
Steyn and De Villiers
Photographic installation
(Six-part)
Profile:
Steyn was born in 1978 and studied BA(Hons) at the
University of Cape Town, which she obtained cum laude.
In October 2007 her surname changed. It marks the begin-
ning of this journey. Steyn was her maiden name. By mar-
riage it became De Villiers. This is a circular journey, start-
ing in the Western Cape where she currently
lives and meandering down to the Free State where her
most recent ancestors are buried, and where she was
born and raised.
She visited six graveyards and recreated these historical
spaces for herself. In these spaces, she photographed people
representative of each place.
109109

Steyn, Daniël Petrus Dreyer
Pretoria
Johantjie
Video
Profile:
Steyn was born in 1984 and studied BA(FA) at the University
of Pretoria. He is currently reading for an MA(FA) at the
same university. He has participated in several exhibitions,
including the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2008.
In this work Steyn has taken two portrait photographs,
one of himself and one of his subject. Over a time span
of five minutes the images slowly blend into one another
and back again. The transition is almost imperceptible
and one hardly notices the subtle changes before one is
faced with the new, separate and independent identity.
110110

Steyn, Daniël Petrus Dreyer
Pretoria
Lenah
Video
In the video artwork Lenah, Steyn has utilised an image
of his own face and slowly changed it into the face of
Lenah Motlhasebe, a domestic worker in his home since
his birth, and a second mother figure in his life. She
forms a distinct counterpoint to his own young, white
male Afrikaner demographic.
111111

Swart, Johanna Christina
Pretoria
86070300110086 F.A.D.E.
Profile:
Swart was born in 1986 and studied BA(FA) at the
University of Pretoria.
With this work Swart critically interrogates notions sur-
rounding the search for identity and the subsequent
erasure thereof through the process of recording and ar-
chiving the photographic portrait. In the work, the endur-
ing traces of a mass-produced ID portrait, as well as the
simultaneous erasure of those traces, become evident.
Therefore, this work signifies a ‘system’ or ‘profile’ or iden-
tikit of sorts, where a manufactured identity of your ‘self’
is referred to and even locatable, but where you are in ac-
tual fact absent and do not exist.
112112

Swarts, Talita
Bellville
Illumination II
Profile:
Swarts was born in 1982 and studied BA(FA) as well as
MA(FA) at the University of Pretoria. She has participated
in several exhibitions, including the Absa L’Atelier Exhibi-
tions in 2004 and 2007.
Illumination II comments on illiteracy in South Africa as
well as on the illuminating potential of literature and
the contemplative nature of knowledge and insight.
113113

Taljaard, Johannes Zacharias (Zach)
Port Elizabeth
Finding myself in the middle
Photographic print
Profile:
Taljaard was born in 1978 and studied BA(FA) at the
University of Pretoria. He has participated in several
exhibitions, including the Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in
2000, 2003 and 2007.
Taljaard’s work follows an autobiographical route, sculp-
turally documenting a personal journey through the
phases of becoming. In this two-sided self-portrait the
artist referenced seven of his previous sculptural installa-
tions to construct a staged environment, juxtaposing dif-
ferent key figures to create visual and conceptual tension.
114114

Tshivhandakano, Ndwamato
Thohoyandou
Secret prayer
Linocut
Profile:
Tshivhandakano was born in 1982 and studied art for
four years at the Montongoni Art Academy. He has
L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009.
The artist was inspired by his mother, who is regarded as
a prophetess in their community. She often engaged in
secret prayers before she could heal people who came to
her for consultation. He grew up seeing mysterious things
happening at home. Candles were some of the objects
she used in her prayers.
115115

Tshivhandakano, Ndwamato
Thohoyandou
Domba dance
Linocut
Domba is the most respected girls’ initiation school
where girls, according to the Venda culture, are taught
good manners and sex education. Domba is also a prepa-
ration for young maidens to become good wives and it
is the last stage (initiation) before they become women.
This dance is performed at the Chief’s place under the
guidance of the elders.
116116

Van der Merwe, Aroné
Pretoria
Memory
Mixed media
Profile:
Van der Merwe was born in 1986 and studied for the
BTech(FA) degree at the Tshwane University of Technol-
ogy, Pretoria. She has participated in several exhibitions,
including the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2008.
This work is about memory. Memory could be triggered
by smell, sight, sound, taste or feeling. In this artwork,
the memory of my grandfather (her role model), is trig-
gered by the smell of his body odour, the sight of his
hats and the sound of his sniffling. It is almost as if
she meets her grandfather every time she smells, sees
or hears this artwork, although he died almost 16 years
ago. The hats used in this artwork belonged to her
grandfather, which he wore on the farm/race course
and to church. This work also represents a universal
theme, namely that the artwork could bring back mem-
ories to the viewer of somebody who they currently
know or have known in the past.
117117

Van der Vyver, Cornelia Maria
Pretoria
Coded
Mixed media
Profile:
Van der Vyver was born in 1977 and is currently studying
BA(VA) at Unisa.
Technology and globalisation has created a complete en-
vironment with an impact that affects not only our com-
munication but also business, the worker and economy.
Thus information is more than the mere content of com-
munication but also involves social practices that engen-
der a social reality.
118118

Van der Watt, Claire
Pretoria
Disposable
Digital photographic print
Profile:
Van der Watt was born in 1979 and studied BTech(FA), at
the Witwatersrand Technikon, which she obtained cum
laude. She also studied MTech(FA) degree at the Universi-
ty of Johannesburg, which she obtained with distinction.
Then a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at Unisa and
is currently a teacher at Parktown High School for girls.
Digital photo
The artwork consists of a photograph of the head of a
sculpture. This head was exposed to the elements for
over three years and has undergone a process of decom-
position. Whilst the original sculpture was a simulation
of human flesh, the weathering has in some areas re-
inforced the idea of human skin, whilst in others high-
lighted the fact that this character is merely a sculpture,
speaking of the natural and the artificial or man-made,
as well as the relationship between the two.
119119

Van Eeden, Wesley
Durban
The world is flat and everything is ok
Mixed media
Profile:
Van Eeden was born in 1979 and obtained his BTech de-
gree in Graphic Design from the Durban University of
Technology.
The world is flat and everything is ok explores the theme of
taking a look at one’s life and questioning one’s existence
in modern-day society. The idea of taking courage in one’s
life, to think about the predicaments in our lives through
true introspection, is to seek the true self.
D i ti f t k
120120

Van Loggerenberg, Yolandé
Pretoria
The fleeting moment
Oil on canvas
Profile:
Van Loggerenberg was born in 1988 and is currently studying
BA(FA) at the University of Pretoria.
This artwork deals with our inability to capture time.
Each moment is so fleeting that we are unable to ac-
curately record it in memory, thus it becomes a blur that
becomes more and more abstracted over time. In this
painting the viewer looks through a window towards
an image that is rapidly disappearing. The motion blur
directly connotes to the abstracting speed of time. This
work speaks of everything we pass by… and that pass us
by… in the course of a lifetime.
121121

Van Schalkwyk, Ilka Jeanne
Pretoria
Reading colour
Profile:
Van Schalkwyk was born in 1986 and obtained a BA(FA)
degree cum laude from the University of Pretoria.
The work deals with the condition called synaesthesia,
which occurs when one’s senses become crossed, e.g. let-
ters of the alphabet turn into colour. Van Schalkwyk used
her alphabet of colour to translate Haroun and the sea
of stories by Salman Rushdie into colour to create an art
book. Important pages are enlarged and accompanied by
protest songs. The work deals with freedom of expres-
sion. Each protest song contains a coloured word, which
is found on the page. This is the key to decipher the book.
122122

Van Schalkwyk, Jacobus Johannes
Johannesburg
Sacrifice: My mother’s dress
Mixed media
Profile:
Van Schalkwyk was born in 1981 and is currently studying
BA at Unisa.
The work ventures to investigate the discourse on the
multi-layered concepts of ‘Sacrifice’ in the areas of the
profane and the sacred. This investigation occurs within
the context, imagery, spaces and the ideology of his own
cultural, religious and social environments. By implication
it endeavours to give credence to the incompleteness of
material and carnal sacrifice as compared to the com-
plete and perfect redemptive sacrifice of the atonement.
123123

Van Schalkwyk, Lyle
Johannesburg
Blou van onse hemel
Oil on canvas
Profile:
Van Schalkwyk was born in 1974 and studied BA(FA) at
the Michaelis School of Art, Cape Town, which he didn’t
complete.
The work takes as its title the most important part of the
introductory line of ‘Die Stem’, South Africa’s national an-
them during the oppressive regime of the apartheid gov-
ernment. Blou van onse hemel presents the lone figure
of a white male Afrikaner officer from the South African
Police Force crime-prevention unit, overlooking the sparse
landscape and monumental, yet now abandoned, gutted
and defunct Transrand railway station, which is just north
of the thriving Kazerne/City Deep railway and freighting
yards in Johannesburg. The derelict structure is now used
as an informal dump-site and the few enclosed spaces
there are inhabited by squatters.
124124

Wargau, Fabian Oliver
Pretoria
MGNTC: VHS: 12 - Interlaced
Mixed media
Profile:
Wargau was born in 1984 and studied BA(VA) at Unisa,
which he obtained cum laude. He has participated in several
Wargau’s original concept concerning the dripping of ac-
tuality has been taken one step further with this series
of video tape works. The process is still about mediation
and the visual-electronic image itself; however the idea
has been tweaked to work directly with the source of the
electronic image – the magnetic video tape found inside
a cassette. Here the painterly images imposed on the tape
can be understood as an indirectly embodied version of
the images on the tape itself.
125125

Wilmot, Cassandra Alexis
East London
After-image I
Etching
Profile:
Wilmot was born in 1988 and is currently studying BA(FA)
at Rhodes University, Grahamstown.
This work explores notions around privacy and access,
personal security and policing. By using innocent every-
day objects, which may or may not appear threatening in
a technique that mimics the aesthetic of x-ray machines
in airports, the work comments on surveillance and
the use of invasive security measures, which have been
heightened in recent years. It also alludes to the seem-
ingly innocent items prohibited when travelling by plane -
and the ease of accessing information to learn how to use
simple items like these to manufacture harmful devices.
126126

Whitehead, Johanna Jacoba (Hanje)
Johannesburg
Die Judasbok/The Judas goat
85 cm x 190 cm x 134 cm
Profile:
Whitehead was born in 1985 and studied BA(FA) at the
University of Pretoria. She is currently reading for an
MA(FA) at the University of Stellenbosch. She has partici-
pated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L’Atelier
Exhibitions in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
The installation depicts an old carpet, an old and used
Lazy-boy chair, five maggots, and a remote control of an
absent television.
The conceptualisation of the installation is concerned
with the investigation of denial of objective involvement
towards another injury, death, victimisation of reality. The
process is manifested through the comfort-zone that
technology gives or provides us.
Di
127127

1986
Winner
Penny Siopis
Merit Award Winners
Deborah Bell
Andrew Breebaart
Dennis Purvis
Simon Stone
1987
Winner
Clive van den Berg
Merit Award Winners
Andries Botha
Philippa Hobbs
Tommy Motswai
Karel Nel
1988
Winner
Diane Victor
Merit Award Winners
Kay Cowley
Guy du Toit
Johann Louw
Margaret Vorster
1989
Winner
Hennie Stroebel
Merit Award Winners
Caroline Jones
Walter Oltmann
Giulio Tambellini
Jeremy Wafer
1990
Winner
Barend de Wet
Merit Award Winners
Andrew Breebaart
Jean Bruwer
Guy du Toit
Judy Woodborne
1991
Winner
Virginia MacKenny
Merit Award Winners
Nicole Donald
Ruth Mileham
Johann van der Schijff
Pierre van der Westhuizen
1992
Winner
Paul Edmunds
Merit Award Winners
Wayne Barker
Marc Edwards
Dominic Thorburn
Minette Vári
1993
Winner
Dominic Thorburn
Merit Award Winners
Siemon Allen
Diek Grobler
Adam Letch
Russel Scott
1994
Winner
Jonathan Comerford
Merit Award Winners
Andrew Putter
Kevin Roberts
Henk Serfontein
Alastair Whitton
1995
Winner
Kevin Roberts
Merit Award Winners
Moses Cetywayo
Gordon Froud
Diek Grobler
Peet Pienaar
1996
Winner
Isaac Khanyile
Merit Award Winners
Hanneke Benadé
Wim Botha
Samkelo Bunu
Berco Wilsenach
1997
Winner
Ilse Pahl
Merit Award Winners
Lucas Bambo
Cecile Heystek
Kim Lieberman
Richardt Strydom
(Known as Volkskas Bank Atelier Competition up to 1998 and from 1999 to 2001 known as Absa Atelier Competition)
128128

1998
Winner
Karl Gietl
Merit Award Winners
Wayne Barker
Hanneke Benadé
Jean Brundrit
Peter Rippon
1999
Winner
Ryan Arenson
Merit Award Winners
Brad Hammond
Fritha Langerman
Albert Redelinghuys
Vanessa van Wyk
2000
Winner
Brad Hammond
Merit Award Winners
Joni Brenner
Natasha Christopher
Colbert Mashile
Nigel Mullins
2001
Winner
Stefanus Rademeyer
Merit Award Winners
Marco Cianfanelli
Daniel Hirschmann
Brent Meistre
Merryn Singer
2002
Winner
Marco Cianfanelli
Merit Award Winners
Natasha Christopher
Alastair McLachlan
Benninghoff Puren
James Webb
2003
Winner
Sanell Aggenbach
Merit Award Winners
Retha Bornmann
Natasha Christopher
Patricia Driscoll
Berco Wilsenach
2004
Winner
Conrad Botes
Merit Award Winners
Stephen Hobbs
Pieter Hugo
Lize Muller
Robert Rich
Gerard Sekoto Winner
Belinda Zangewa
2005
Winner
Berco Wilsenach
Merit Award Winners
Katherine Bull
Lawrence Lemaoana
Patrice Mabasa
Mikhael Subotzky
Lawrence Lemaoana
2006
Winner
Ruth Sacks
Merit Award Winners
Nathani Lüneburg
Riason Naidoo
Anet Norval
James Webb
Nomusa Makhubu
2007
Winner
Pierre Fouché
Merit Award Winners
Nina Barnett
Wayne Matthews
Lyndi Sales
Jaco Spies
Nina Barnett
2008
Winner
James Webb
Merit Award Winners
Christiaan Hattingh
Lunga Kama
Alhyrian Laue
Antonia Steyn
Retha Ferguson
2009
Winner
Stephen Rosin
Merit Award Winners
Frikkie Eksteen
Stephan Erasmus
Hannah-Ada Lotz
Mbhekiseni Shabalala
Nyaniso Lindi
129129

Absa L’Atelier 2010
“I accept my individuality and embrace my talent with passion. I have the courage to wear it with pride.
This is who I am. Despite ridicule and negativity I will be remembered for the creativity that is in me.”
– Lizelle Olivier, 24

1433 absa 2010 l'atelier catalogue lowres

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