0326 absa 2007 l'atelier catalogue lowres

Absa L’Atelier 2007
Behind every door lies...Behind every door lies...

Open up
Doors open.Doors close.Behind every door,there
is a reality.For each of us,that reality is different.
For the artist, the challenge is to find a unique
way to express that unique reality.
For 22 years now, the Absa L’Atelier Awards,
incorporating the Gerard Sekoto Award, have
been opening doors for young artists.These
awards also afford us the privilege of a glimpse
into these talented young people’s realities.
Open the door.Walk with Absa through an
unparalleled experience, expressed in art.
Door no 1

The Absa L’Atelier Award
The Absa L’Atelier Art Competition is presented annually by
Absa in conjunction with SANAVA (South African National
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, Johannesburg,
East London, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria and Thohoyandou by a
local panel of selectors guided by Guy du Toit on behalf of the
National President of SANAVA.The selected works of art have
been sent to Johannesburg for final adjudication.
National Selection Panel
Guy du Toit, Coordinator
David Andrews, Johannesburg
Fritha Langerman, Cape Town
Vulindlela Nyoni, Pietermaritzburg
Kevin Roberts, Pretoria
Air ticket to Paris, France sponsored by Absa
This catalogue has been compiled by Cecile Loedolff,Manager:
Art, Group Marketing, Absa.
Published by Absa, member of the Barclays Group.
2007 Absa L’Atelier Awards Catalogue ISBN 978-0-620-38917-4
2

Door no 3
Introduction
Guy du Toit, Coordinator
The Absa L’Atelier Awards is 22 years old and no longer a teenager. It is
still as always an important platform for artists and the prizes are
impressive research and networking opportunities for under thirty fives.
I am reluctant to call them young or emerging artists as many have
established careers and are producing mature work.
It is said that the most important decision an artist takes is the decision
whether or not to release a work into the public domain, and in this case,
subject one’s personal vision to a rather ironic selection and judication
process.The winning works are determined by all the other works on the
exhibition; they are informed by and stand in relationship to this gestalt.
Change some of the selected works and the potential that the winners
would be different becomes real. So too, works that were not selected
helped determine those that were and vice versa. Every artist who
submitted art has contributed to the final exhibition and effectively to
the winners and they should all be applauded.The sponsors, selectors
and adjudicators should also be thanked as the Absa L’Atelier Awards
would be nil without them.
The exhibition as a whole sets up a narrative that is specific to the
particular selection of artworks. Bring in the selectors and adjudicators,
each with their peculiar readings of this whole and its parts, and we
should have exponentially divergent takes on the final laureates,but and
this always amazes me, consensus is arrived at with relative ease.
However,what is even more interesting and important is you,the viewing
public, for it is you who complete the whole process by giving the time
to interact and react with the individual works, the whole exhibition,and
in effect judge the jurors’ judgements.Thank you all and enjoy the show.

Changing the reality of young artists in South Africa has been the metier of
the Absa L’Atelier,Africa’s longest-running art competition,for 22 years now.
Over the years,many an upcoming artist has eagerly crossed the threshold
into the light of recognition ignited by winning a L’Atelier or Gerard Sekoto
Award. Most have gone on to make a significant impact on the world of
the arts – through their body of work and through their inspired teaching.
The opportunity to nurture the arts offered by a sponsorship incorporating
these two awards is something we at Absa prize most highly. In our quest
for pre-eminence in South Africa and on the African continent,it behoves us
to open doors for the burgeoning talents of this richly diverse environment.
We have always been careful to ensure that our involvement in the arts goes
beyond bestowing stature and prestige in the form of a sought-after award.
It is the two sponsored sabbaticals at the Cité Internationale des Arts in
Paris, France, that give these awards their undoubted power to influence
the South African art scene.
This international exposure – and the time and money young artists are
granted to pursue their muse – differentiates the L’Atelier and Gerard Sekoto
Awards from anything else South Africa has to offer its upcoming artists.
It gives me a great pleasure to celebrate the latest crop of L’Atelier and
Gerard Sekoto talent by means of this catalogue.
– Steve Booysen
Absa Group Chief Executive
Foreword
4

Door no 5
Gerard Sekoto Award
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 French loving 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.

Gerard Sekoto Award: 2004
An unparalleled portal
The realities of building a career as an artist were very different for Billie Zangewa after she
stepped out as a Gerard Sekoto Award winner.
Plucking up the courage to re-open the door to a career in art after ten successful years in the
clothing industry,paid off for Billie Zangewa (34) when she won the first Gerard Sekoto Award
in 2004.
“Without the exposure my solo exhibition as a winner afforded me and the kudos of having
receivedthiswellregardedaward,itwouldhavebeenmuchmoreofastruggletogainrecognition
as an artist,”Billie says.
She knows.Fresh out of Rhodes University ten years before,she had pursued her dream but
found the going too hard.
“InGaborone,Iworkedandworkedatit,butIjustcouldn’tmakeheadway,havingtodoeverything
– and pay for everything – myself.The kind of support and exposure Absa’s prize has given me
makes all the difference.”
Onceshehadrecoveredfrom thesurpriseandecstasyofwinning,Billie tookoffforhersabbatical
in the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris determined to make the most of this wonderful prize.
“Strangely enough,I had formed an interest in the French language right from my early days
in primary school in Botswana.Being able to talk to the Parisians in their own language – albeit
badly – certainly helped.I found they thawed to me quite quickly.”
Billie says the location and ambience of the Cité could not have been better.She gained much
from her exposure to French and international art and artists,as well as from wandering the
streets,shops and galleries of Paris.
“Much of what European artists do is so simple.Their art is about ordinary things.They take the
ordinary and make something extraordinary of it.That is what informs my work to this day.It
appeals to me.”
Now that she has been living her dream for three years,Billie feels no trace of the boredom and
restlessness that plagued her in the days when she couldn’t give up her day job.And the portal
to her happiness was the Gerard Sekoto Award.
Door no 7

A firm step into the future
An enticing reality awaits Lawrence Lemaoana on the other side of the door that the Gerard
Sekoto Award opened up for him in 2005.
Spending from June through August last year in the Cité Internationale des Arts cast a whole
new light on his art career for Lawrence Lemaoana (25).
“It was an incredible time for me. I got to explore many other works of art and my time in
Paris made me take a different look at my own work,” says Lawrence.
“The people I met seemed very interested in how my identity as a South African informed
my work. I was more used to striving to be as international as possible in my expression.”
So, for Lawrence, infusing his French experience into his work came down to feeling more
free, to be unashamedly local.
“Another thing I realised from the conversations I had with other artists and from examining
their concepts, was that we South Africans have more of a sense of humour than most. I
enjoy adding an element of surprise to my work.You lose nothing when you laugh,”Lawrence
points out.
A realisation of the wealth that we have as South Africans also came out strongly for
Lawrence during his time overseas.
For one, he realised that it was relatively easy for him to adapt to a foreign culture because
of his varied experience growing up in this country.
“My parents are black and hard working,but none too wealthy.They value a good education
and saw to it that I went first to an Indian primary school and then to a former Model C
school in a largely Jewish community. Multi-culturalism comes naturally to me.”
So,although winning the Gerard Sekoto Award and going to Paris took Lawrence out of his
comfort zone,he had the right mindset to gain as much as possible from it right from the start.
8

“Being away from home and part of
such a vibrant art community put me
on the right footing to delve into my
being as an artist. Having stepped
through that door, I am seeing my
future in a new light. I know art is
going to be my life.”
Having that certainty, as well as the
opportunity to exhibit his work and
the recognition of his potential worth
as an artist,is important to Lawrence.
“Art was never part of my family
background.It took a leap of faith for
my parents to accept my choice when
I started studying fine art at the
University of Johannesburg,”he says.
“I think they feel more secure about
my prospects after I gained my BTech
degree and when I received the
Gerard Sekoto Award.”
Door no 9

10
Opportunity opened up
When Sasa Makhubu stepped through the door that winning last year’s Gerard Sekoto
Award opened for her, she met a plethora of opportunities that changed her reality.
Not only did winning the Gerard Sekoto Award in 2006 gain Sasa Makhubu (23) her first
residency, it also opened up a world of opportunity and a whole new reality.
“I was bowled over to win. I hadn’t even expected to make it past the provincial selections
for the award,” says Sasa.
“And then, before I even left for Paris, I was also awarded Amnesty International’s Woman
of the Year Award in the arts category.”
During her three months in the Cité Internationale des Arts, Sasa mixed with gallery owners
and plenty of artists with whom she could exchange ideas.
“I met people who knew Sekoto and I saw places where he lived and worked. It was
breathtaking. I absolutely appreciate everything.”
She was also exposed to a diverse selection of art and artists, both visual and performing,
during her time in Paris.“This made me look beyond boundaries,” she says.
Even after Sasa’s return, her time in the Cité has yielded a sustained interest in her work.
Just last month, she heard that her work has been selected for an exhibition in this year’s
Jeune Creation in November.
“I also met people who informed me about other programmes,such as the Bamako African
Photography Biennial, which I am hoping to participate in later this year, and I managed
to put up an exhibition at the Cité, called face to face, which gave me a bit of exposure and
a variety of opinions about my work,” she says.
“During the exhibition I was invited to participate in the Kunsthorten Exhibition, which was
unfortunately discontinued because of a lack of funding. Nonetheless, that was quite an
achievement.”

Door no 11
This year, Sasa has also been
nominated for the Shoprite/Checkers
Woman of the Year Award.
She certainly never dreamed that her
interest in art, which started while
she was at school and was fuelled by
seeing her elder brother working on
his collages and paintings, would
take her so far.
“My brother’s work is still a major
influence on my art,”Sasa points out,
“and my family has always been a
real blessing to me.”
The context of the Vaal Triangle,
where Sasa grew up,has also led her
to question issues of identity and her
link to Grahamstown as a historical
space.That is where she has spent
the past four years studying,first for
her Bachelor of Fine Arts and now for
her Masters in Art History.
In future, Sasa hopes to indulge her
love of drama, music and writing, as
well as pursuing her artistic career.
Her dream is to have a studio where
other young artists will also be able
to work.

WinnerPierre Fouché
Bellville
The distance between us III
Mixed media
106,5cm x 105cm
12

MeritAward
Johannesburg
Voda voda
Animation
2 min 24 sec
Nina Ruth Barnett
Door no 13

Wayne Matthews
Port Elizabeth
Europa’s libation
Mixed media
46cm x 58cm x 37cm
14
MeritAward

MeritAward
Bellville
How long can you hold your breath
Found objects
82cm x 72,5cm
Lynda Dorothy (Lyndi) Sales
Door no 15

Theodorus Ignatius Jacobus (Jaco) Spies
Bloemfontein
Palimpsest koppie
Animation
Infinite time
16
MeritAward

Johannesburg
Voda voda
Animation
2 min 24 sec
Nina Ruth Barnett
Door no 17
GerardSekotoAward

Door no 19
SCENE DO NOT CROSS CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS CRIME
RIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS CRIME
RIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS CRIME
CENE DO NOT CROSS CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS CRIME
ENE DO NOT CROSS CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS CRIME SCENE

1NinaBarnett
2LynetteBester
3LotharBöttcher
4RikusFerreira
5PierreFouché
6SarelJansenvanRensburg
7MarliseKeith
8WayneMatthews
9LyndiSales
10JacoSpies
Door no 21

Profile:Armstrong was born in 1985.She is currently
studying BA(FA) at Rhodes University, Grahamstown.
Description of artwork: These three dog-
men busts on three light grey plinths,represent power.
The power of imagination and the power of change.
These sculptures stand taller than the artist herself,
which creates a metaphor for power that art critics
have over the artists. Ironically without the artists they
would not exist.
Armstrong, Beth Diane
East London
Hybrid vigour
Mixed media
(Triptych)
a) 175cm x 31cm x 53cm
b) 175cm x 31cm x 53cm
c) 175cm x 31cm x 53cm
22

Johannesburg
Voda voda
Animation
2 min 24 sec
Barnett, Nina Ruth
Door no 23
Profile: Barnett wasborninJohannesburgin1983.She
studied BA(FA) at the University of theWitwatersrand.
Description of artwork:Thisanimationconsists
ofaseriesofredcupsfilledwithwatermakingajourney
throughthecityofBelgradefromapublicfountaintoagallery.

Profile:Bester was born in 1978.
She studied BA(FA) at the
University of Stellenbosch, which
she obtained cum laude.
Description of artwork:
Le Marteau sans Maitre – The
hammer without a master, is a
kinetic sculpture created from
salvaged parts of a piano.The
parts were reassembled in order
to make a new object that moves
and makes sound. It challenges
the perception of a found object
and its place in society.The art-
work’s title comes from a poem
written by Rene Char in 1933 and
Pierre Boulez’s music score of 1955.
This is the artist’s interpretation
of a hammer without a master
with direct reference to the
process of producers.
Bester, Lynette
Bellville
Le Marteau sans Maitre
Salvaged stand up piano
190cm x 120cm x 110cm
24

Johannesburg
I’m a junkie
Mixed media
(Four-part)
a) 50cm x 30cm
b) 50cm x 30cm
c) 50cm x 30cm
d) 50cm x 30cm
Boshoga, Aubrey Thabang
Door no 25
Profile: Boshoga was born in Mamelodi, Pretoria in
1972. He studied BA(FA) at the University of Durban-
Westville.
Description of artwork:ManypeopleinSouth
Africa are using drugs and because of this they are
losing their jobs, cars and loved ones. It is painful to
see how it destroys people’s lives. ‘I’m a junkie’ consists
of four works, trying to warn the people not to get
addicted to it and to those who are to stop using drugs.
Hessian material is used to create texture in his
paintings but it also has a special meaning for him as
it is not only a potato bag but it was also utilised for
cleaning, scrubbing and bathing like the orange sack.

Botes, Sybrandt Lourens (Brandt)
Bellville
Stick figures in peril
Digital print
76cm x 59cm
26
Profile: Botes was born in 1975
and studied BA(FA) Applied
Graphics at the University of
Stellenbosch.
A warning sign composed entirely
of warning signs.The immediate
association with danger is
undermined by the playful nature
of the iconography and the
situations the stick figures find
themselves in.

Bellville
Love
Digital print
76cm x 59cm
Door no 27
Pastiche of Robert Indiana’s best
known image.The sperm and egg
cells making up the word LOVE,
questions its meaning and purpose.
It adds an additional layer of
informationandmeaningthatworks
bothandagainstit–ontheonehand
apossiblevisualanalogyof theword
andontheotherhandaTrojanHorse.

Bellville
Green peace
Digital print
76,5cm x 59cm
28
The work portrays an image of a
bomb made of natural elements –
the duality of this image can be
interpreted as nature fighting back
or nature becoming a weapon
(natural disasters);or alternatively,
nature being erased by the fragility
of our environment and the state
of natural resources.The answer is
not supplied and the viewer is left
to make this decision.

Pretoria
3 Roamers #1
Glass and steel
183cm x 50cm x 47cm
Böttcher, Lothar Otto
Door no 29
Profile: Böttcher was born in
1973 and studied Fine Arts at the
Tshwane University ofTechnology.
He has participated in several
exhibitions, including the Absa
L’Atelier Exhibition in 2005.
In his sculptures glass becomes
the focal point.The viewer is
drawn to the anomaly in space
and becomes aware of the
surroundings within the glass.
These lenses show a point of view
(abstractly),changing perspective
and observation of the contiguous
space.These works can be
manipulated (moved around) to
change their locality. In this way
the viewer can observe the space
around him or her.This is not a
static work and needs the
interaction of the viewer,
changing their perspectives on
their environment.

Pretoria
3 Roamers #2
Glass and steel
183cm x 50cm x 47cm
30

Pretoria
3 Roamers #3
Glass and steel
183cm x 50cm x 47cm
Door no 31

Profile: Card was born in East London in 1985. She
is currently studying for the BTech(FA) degree at the
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University,Port Elizabeth.
Description of artwork: This artwork consists
of a series of drawings where repeated or similar imagery
of dolls were used and changed to convey a specific topic,
namely child abuse.Card wanted to expose and explore
the social conditions within our society through her art-
work,hopefully encouraging a process of healing within
ourcommunitiesandat thesametimecreatingconscious
awareness.She has chosen to be a voice for the young
and helpless,those that have fallen victim to child abuse.
Card, Jayde
Port Elizabeth
Can you hear us? Series I
Mixed media
(Triptych)
a) 60cm x 50cm
b) 60cm x 50cm
c) 60cm x 50cm
32

East London
Do you know Him from a bar of soap?
Mixed media
89,5cm x 160cm x 11cm
Clüver, Frances Rose Mannix
Door no 33
Profile: Clüver was born in 1985. She is currently
Description of artwork: Mass consumer
culture has led to apathy and desensitisation especially
when it comes to the topic of religion.This work hopes
to interrogate the effects of mass production on our
thoughts and feelings towards Christ and spirituality.

Profile: Cronjé was born in 1975. She studied BA(FA)
at the University of Stellenbosch,which she received
cum laude.She also obtained an MA(FA) at the University
of Stellenbosch. She has participated in several
exhibitions,including the Absa Atelier Exhibition in 2001.
Description of artwork: Cronjé’s mother
introduced her to the idea of evolution by showing her
an illustrated book on this theme.This book illustrates
Felix von Luschan’s chromatic scale of flesh colour
variations of the human race. Cronjé has always been
fascinated by the way in which humans need to classify
and order things to enable them to make sense, and
somehow she was drawn to an image of coloured
ceramic tiles. She found it impossible to reconcile this
variety of colour with the odd variety of colours in her
crayon box. Another childhood fascination was the
colour samples at hardware shops – specifically the
names given to the different colours.
With this work entitled‘Flesh’, she tried to find a
connection between these childhood perceptions and
her love for colour. Living in South Africa, connotations
with race in terms of skin colour is unavoidable.
Cronjé, Karen
Bellville
Flesh
Ink on paper
(Twenty-part)
36cm x 30cm each
34

East London
Held still #1, #2, #3
Mixed media
(Triptych)
a) 38cm x 66cm x 10cm
c) 44cm x 66cm x 14cm
De Jager, Maureen Susan
Door no 35
Profile:De Jager was born in 1973 and studied BA(FA)
at the University of the Witwatersrand, which she
obtained with distinction. She also studied MA(FA) at
the University of the Witwatersrand, which was also
obtained with distinction. She has participated in
several exhibitions.
Description of artwork: ‘Held still’ alludes to
thedifficultieswesometimeshaveindistancingourselves
from the past and from certain childhood experiences,
for which the teddy bear acts as a metaphor.The title
suggests that some childhood experiences remain with
us in adult life – they are‘held still’or still held onto as a
source of comfort.But another meaning of‘held still’
would suggest that something is held in an unmoving
position,frozen and immobilised,much like the bears in
the sculpture.In this sense the desire to hold onto the
past paradoxically transforms that past into a rigid and
unresponsive shell,which provides little comfort.

Profile: DeVillierswasbornin1984andstudiedfor the
BTech(FA)degreeat theTshwaneUniversityofTechnology.
Description of artwork: De Villiers explores
the notion of the book as an art form.These books
consist of her drawings and texts which she collected
and rendered.The books are in different formats, for
example pop-up and pull-outs, which explore issues
regarding the Anglo Boer War.
De Villiers, Christelle
Pretoria
Untitled
Mixed media
77,5cm x 104cm x 32cm
36

East London
Old goal series
Mixed media
(Triptych)
a) 56,5cm x 68cm
b) 56,5cm x 68cm
c) 56,5cm x 68cm
De Wet, Bevan Jordan
Door no 37
Profile: De Wet was born in
1985 and is currently studying
BA(FA) at Rhodes University,
Grahamstown.
This series was inspired by the
drawings on the cell walls in the
old goal at Grahamstown.While
the images are simple, the
complexity of emotion conveyed
in each image can be attributed
to each prisoner’s sense of
confinement and struggle for
freedom. In this series De Wet
used private and hidden
experiences to reveal haunted and
solitary existence.

Du Preez, Michelle
Port Elizabeth
Museum of memories
Mixed media
(Five-part installation)
56cm x 200cm x 200cm
38
Profile: Du Preez was born in
Port Elizabeth in 1985 and studied
fortheNationalDiplomainFineArts
attheNelsonMandelaMetropolitan
University,Port Elizabeth.
’Museum of memories’ is the title
of a series of works in glass that
explore the notion of memory. In
some sense this is a quest for
happiness,a reflection of a state of
mind, a new beginning and the
striving for reconnections.
According to the artist glass,as
medium,provokesintuitivefeelings
of vividness and the sensation of
being visible yet untouchable.

Johannesburg
Goodbye Afrikaans
Digital print
119cm x 84cm
Engelbrecht, Barend Jacobus (BJ)
Door no 39
Profile: Engelbrecht was born in
1983 and studied BA(FA) at the
University of theWitwatersrand.He
is currently reading for an MA(FA)
at the University of the
Witwatersrand.
This work has multiple meanings
and is open to interpretation. It
began quite spontaneously.While
watching Noot vir Noot one evening,
as he has done a thousand times
before,it brought back memories of
hismothershoutingout songnames
and lyrics before most of the
contestants could do the same.Noot
vir Noot, then in its twenty second
season but although he does not
watch it with his mother anymore,
he wanted to capture this feeling of
loss,a lost moment,tradition,culture
and ritual.
As an Absa client he was assisted in
English by an Afrikaans-speaking
woman who struggled with English
but persevered.He ascertained then
that Absa employees are restricted
to the use of English in the
workplace.This is understandable
to some degree but also problematic
and in this work he wants to stress
that BJ Engelbrecht or Goodbye
Afrikaans is in no way offering a
solution.

Profile: Ferreira was born in 1976 and obtained a
BA(FA) as well as an MA(FA) from the University of
Stellenbosch.He has participated in several exhibitions,
including the Volkskas Bank Atelier Exhibition in 1999
and the Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2003 and 2004.
Description of artwork: This is a narrative
dealing mainly with the idea of invasion – whether on
a personal, cultural, religious or political level.
Ferreira, Rikus
Bellville
Ou storie rou storie
Pen and ink on paper
84cm x 102,5cm
40

Pretoria
The slippery finch
Photography
122,5cm x 104,5cm
Ferguson, Sophia Margaretha (Retha)
Door no 41
Profile: Ferguson was born in
1984 and is currently studying BA(FA)
at the University of Pretoria.
This work explores the continuous
yearning for a specifically
unattainable and idealistic moment.
The concept applies specifically to
photography where people always
want tocapturethe‘perfect’moment
and make it last for ever.This
moment, however, always seems to
escape us and results in a constant
unfulfilled longing for something
just out of reach.The result is that
we never experience the actual
present moment for what it should
be and often miss the beauty of the
seemingly insignificant.
With the cage, the work plays a pun
on the double meaning of capture
in the photographic sense (capture
an image) and in the sense of
catching or seizing a bird.The bird
in this context stands as a metaphor
for the ideal moment.

Description of artwork:With‘Shadowmatinée’
the artist pays tribute to the beauty of light in the late
afternoon.In her title she refers to the theatre as she sees
the way in which light and shadows play at that time of
the day,as a beautiful theatrical performance.
Ferguson, Sophia Margaretha (Retha)
Pretoria
Shadow matinée
Photography
64,5cm x 85,5cm
42

Bellville
The distance between us III
Mixed media
106,5cm x 105cm
Fouché, Pierre
Door no 43
Profile: Fouché was born in 1977 and studied BA(FA)
at the University of Stellenbosch, which he obtained
cum laude. He also studied MA(FA) at the University of
Stellenbosch, which he also obtained with distinction.
He has participated in several exhibitions, including
the Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2004 and 2005.
Description of artwork: The work is an
‘unfinished’tapestry depicting two young men posing
for a photograph on the beach.The one figure
represents the artist’s father who is shying, ever so
slightly, away from the touch of the muscular arm
resting on his shoulder. A touch is seldom removed
from the possibility of its disavowal.

Profile: Fuller was born in 1974 and studied BA(FA).
Description of artwork:This photograph was
taken by a camera with specially designed multiple
lenses. It was created to allow each of the views
witnessed by the independent apertures to bleed into
one another.This opens up the possibility of creating
a new compound of what reality represents.Where
there are no absolutes but instead faint suggestions,
a probability of what might have been was created.
Fuller, St John James Zair
Pretoria
I forget why
Photography
156cm x 107,5cm
44

Pretoria
Edna magazine (Celebrity)
Mixed media
151,5cm x 30cm x 68cm
Gee, Edna
Door no 45
Profile: Gee was born in 1984
and studied BA(FA) at the
University of Pretoria.
This installation consists of a
perspex magazine stand and four
digitally printed magazines.These
images explore the concepts of
glamour and celebrity culture.

Profile: Gutter was born in 1980
and obtained a BA(FA) degree at the
University of the Free State.She has
participated in several exhibitions,
including the Absa L’Atelier
Exhibitions in 2002,2003,2004,
2005 and 2006.
Atfirstglanceitisquiteclearthatthe
bullet-proof window adds extra
emotion.Itgivestheimpressionthat
the message on the DVD does not
only demonstrate a collage of
‘propaganda’orientated
phenomenon,concerning the
annihilationofcommonfarmers,but
exposerealliveevents.Onceflawless
andunbreakable,thedefeatedbullet-
proof window now confronts the
onlooker.This installation gives us a
multidimensional feeling adding to
the realism of being put into the
shoes of one who survived a farm
attack.
Gutter, Pauline Gertruida
Bloemfontein
Bullet proof
DVD installation
4 min 15 sec
46

Pretoria
Oorsig/Oorskot
Mixed media
Hefer, Marleon
Door no 47
Profile: Hefer was born in 1983 and studied BA(FA)
Description of artwork:This work deals with
a non-comprehensive view on the history of semi-South
African icons which are depicted in a photo album.The
book contains figures that are all to an extent immersed
in a sea of suspicion due to either a certain lifestyle,
standard, a specific event or maybe a mere hairstyle.
Each nation has its heroes and its mobs; a group of
sensitive characters that play a defining role in a
country’s identity.This book is dedicated to them.

Profile:Hendrikzwasbornin1980andstudiedfor the
BTech(FA)degreeat theTshwaneUniversityofTechnology.
Description of artwork: There are different
aspects to the symbolism of rocks,but the most obvious
is that of unchanged motionlessness.The structure of
the artwork is of such a nature that it portrays motion
or movement as well as notions of origin in nature,
leaving traces of its source in fossilised earthly imagery.
Hendrikz, Roan
Pretoria
Transfor’motion
Mixed media
200cm x 200cm x 200cm
48

Durban
My hero
Mixed media
76,5cm x 52cm
Hlongwa, Bongumusa
Door no 49
Profile:Hlongwawasbornin1984.
He is currently studying for the
National Diploma in Fine Arts at the
Durban Institute of Technology.
Brett Kebble is the artist’s hero
because of his support and
encouragement of artists. He
associated his hero, Kebble, with its
king of the jungle‘lion’and the
‘leopard’,which is associated with
the Zulu Kingdom because of its skin
the Zulus wear. By using these
elements he tries to portray Kebble’s
power,inspiration and gift of taking
care of other people.

Jansen van Rensburg, Martli
Pretoria
Conversations with history
Mixed media
200cm x 200cm x 200cm
50
Profile:Jansen van Rensburg was
born in 1977 and studied for the
National Diploma in Fine Arts at the
Technikon Pretoria.She also studied
for the BTech(FA) degree at the
Technikon Pretoria. She is currently
reading for an MTech(FA) degree at
the Tshwane University of
Technology. She has participated in
several exhibitions, including the
Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2004
and 2005.
This artwork is all about people who
make their mark in many different
ways.Theycaptureamoment in time
as well as in memory.They rewrite
and redefine history,ideas,concepts,
images, forms, patterns,art and
design. Jansen van Rensburg took a
picture of an historical moment.

Pretoria
Circle on line
Mixed media
195,5cm x 18cm x 36,5cm
Jansen van Rensburg, Martli
Door no 51
The artist interactively combines
through installation and fusion,
‘pure form’objects and symbols in
space.She explores the dynamics of
‘non-functional’objects left in space.
The wall becomes the straight line
and the glass and felt the circle.

Profile: Jansen van Rensburg
was born in 1970 and studied for
the BTech(FA) degree at the
Technikon Pretoria.
This work embodies a small
voodoo type doll that portrays the
absurdity of the mixed cultures
and at the same timeappropriates
each other’s customs wrongly.
Jansen van Rensburg, Sarel Petrus
Pretoria
Overstand
Mixed media
39cm x 21,5cm x 30cm
52

Pretoria
White room
Video
2 min 24 sec
Jooste, Liebet Marie
Door no 53
Profile: Jooste was born in 1983 and studied BA(FA)
Description of artwork: The application of
white paint in this video is a symbol of the artist’s
peaceful confrontation and reflection of her journey
with anxiety disorder: Introspection, sadness,
bewilderment, tenseness, distraction, insecureness,
looking in the wrong places and drunkenness.

Profile: Keith was born in 1972 and studied BA(FA) at
the University of Pretoria.She also studied MA(FA) at the
UniversityofStellenbosch.Shehasparticipatedinseveral
exhibitions,including theVolkskasBankAtelierExhibition
in 1996 and the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2006.
Description of artwork: The artist is
questioning potential hero-ness such as lily-livered Pac-
men or shiny knights.According to her it turns out that
they are equally burlesque and creepy.
Keith, Marlise
Bellville
The inkling wars: Saints and cavities
Mixed media
120cm x 200cm
54

Bellville
Night shelter
Newspaper and metal
Le Roux, Angeline-Ann Johanna
Door no 55
Profile:Le Roux was born in 1973 and studied BVA at
Unisa.
Description of artwork: ‘Night shelter’ is a
threedimensionalworkexecutedmainlyfromnewspapers
(thepaperofthepeople),thebeddingofthehomeless.The
woven newspaper squares are linked by a chain which
forms an integral part of the bed and symbolises the
mannerinwhichallhumansarelinkedbybiologicalfactors
allrequiringthesamebasicnecessitiesforsurvival.Weaving
represents the complex interwoven qualities of social
structure.The work focuses on shelter as the most basic
requirementofhumansurvivalandthebed(placetosleep)
embodies the intrinsic private place,so essential to the
concept ofhome.Thefrayededgesserve toemphasize the
lackofstabilityexperiencedwhenpeopleareuprootedand
without protection or shelter.The bed rests on springs,a
reference to comfort.

Profile: Liesching was born in 1985 and is currently
Description of artwork: The focus of this
particular series centres on personal identity related
to history.The view of identity as representation and
artifice as well identity as fiction or a series of narratives
are also explored.The aim was to explore the dynamics
at play in the construction of the artist’s own national
identity, namely that of a white South African with a
German/Dutch heritage.She used herself,her boyfriend,
her sister and a close friend as models at play posing
as a family unit.
Liesching, Carla Elizabeth
East London
Untitled
Photography
(Six-part)
64cm x 54cm each
56

East London
Assimilation
Video
1 min 3 sec
Lindi, Nyaniso
Door no 57
Profile: Lindi was born in 1973 and studied BA(FA)
at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, which he did not
complete.
Description of artwork: As a young South
African Xhosa, who grew up in the Eastern Cape, the
artist finds it difficult to erase the imbedded idea that
the previous generation could not think independently.
Manyquestionscame to theforeregardingNongqawuse
and her visionary abilities.
Nongqawuse was used as a reference to create this
animation entitled‘Assimilation’because of the
assimilation of people into the western way of doing
things, i.e. talking, dressing, etc.The objective of the
work was not to force the idea but to enable people to
fill the missing clues and create their own meanings.

Profile: Lossgott was born in Germany in 1980 and
studied B(Journ) at Rhodes University, Grahamstown.
Description of artwork: ‘Alpha’ is a video
exploring unspeakable embodied languages of recurrent
loss and gain,such as memory or intuition,and the
vulnerability and violence whereby any identity is formed.
Lossgottfoundanaddressbookinademolishedapartment
in CapeTown.The page for A had been torn out.The rest
wasblank,exceptforoneaddress,underBforBeatrice.This
woman seemed the only person the owner of the book
had ever really known.
Ifyourepeatedlyforgoteverypersonyouknew,andsearched
forciphersthat might remain,youmight inyoursurrender
discover the approach of some imaginary person,half-
sensed,half-glimpsed by intuition.Not a ghost,not an
archetype exactly,but an empty form waiting to be filled,
something like an unspoken,unremembered word.
Lossgott, Kai
Johannesburg
Alpha
Video
3 min 3 sec
58

Pretoria
Year of the pig
Photography
(Four-part)
a) 54,5cm x 48,5cm
b) 54,5cm x 48,5cm
c) 46,5cm x 48,5cm
d) 46,5cm x 48,5cm
Lotz, Hannah-Ada (Paton)
Door no 59
Profile: Lotz was born in 1974 and studied Business
Communication at the University of Potchefstroom.
She also studied BA Journalism at Unisa. She has
participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa
L’Atelier Exhibition in 2005 where she was selected as
one of the top ten finalists.
Description of artwork: The year of the pig
greeted us on 18 February 2007 and stays with us until
6 February 2008.This year ends the 12-year cycle of
Chinese astrology that started with the year of the rat.
The year of the pig always brings completion, ending
in grandeur and perfection.
Lotz’s Chinese sign is the tiger. She thought it
appropriate to make a close and personal connection
with the pig.The three little pigs were first to come to
mind. Not only did she find it humorous but also a
good example of how eastern and western cultures
have different connections and expectations regarding
the same subject matter.

Profile: Lüneburgwasbornin1982andstudiedBA(FA)
at theUniversityofPretoria.ShealsostudiedMA(FA)at the
University of Pretoria.She has participated in several
exhibitions,including theAbsaL’AtelierExhibitionin2004,
whereshewasselectedasoneof the top tenfinalists.She
also participated in the Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2005
and2006,whereshewasselectedasameritawardwinner.
Description of artwork:‘If I did(n’t)’ is a visual
metaphor for the sorrow, confusion and bareness
lingeringinawoman’sheart afterandduring theprocess
of an abortion.Through this stop-frame animation, the
artist has chosen to illustrate the corporeal as well as
the psychosomatic struggles evident in the complicated
choice-making process involving termination of
pregnancy. It focuses on the emotional theatre of war
present in the mind of an awaiting mother-to-be.The
images of the black and white figure performing an act
of unity and then a mutual disappearing act, suggest
the relationship between the opposites in the female
character’s mind. It explores the collapse of boundaries
between moralities and immoralities; wrong and right
and just and unjust during the female character’s
decision-making.
Lüneburg, Nathani
Pretoria
If I did(n’t)
Video
3 min 46 sec
60

Thohoyandou
The listener
Ceramic
47cm x 29cm x 35cm
Mabasa, Patrice Mashangu
Door no 61
Profile: Mabasa was born in 1973 and studied for
the BTech(FA) degree at the Technikon of the
Witwatersrand.He has participated in the Absa L’Atelier
Exhibitions in 2005 and 2006 He also received an Absa
L’Atelier Merit Award in 2005.
Description of artwork:This artwork depicts
a man who likes to listen to the news over the radio.

Description of artwork: Mafenya means to
laugh inTsonga.Mr Mafenya is thus a person who likes
to laugh.
Mabasa, Patrice Mashangu
Thohoyandou
Mr Mafenya
Ceramic
47,5cm x 31,5cm x 36cm
62

East London
Anguish of poverty
Paint and clay
65cm x 20cm x 19,5cm
Mabindla, Bayanda
Door no 63
Profile: Mabindla was born in
1984 and obtained a National
Diploma in Fine Arts at theWalter
Sisulu University, East London.
Poverty is a phenomenon that
affects every person directly or
indirectly.The stove with its flames
that keeps burning is a symbol of
poverty.The anguished face
screamsdailyforrelieffrompoverty.

Profile:Maphangwa was born in 1985 and obtained
a National Diploma in Fine Arts from the University of
Johannesburg. She is currently studying for the
BTech(FA) degree at the University of Johannesburg.
Description of artwork: The work of art
investigates the connections between Europe and Africa
in terms of their spirituality and notions regarding their
belief systems.The work endeavours to draw the line
between the familiar and unfamiliar subject matter.
Maphangwa, Shonisani
Johannesburg
Viewing Toledo
Acrylic on canvas
(Triptych)
a) 60,5cm x 25cm
b) 60,5cm x 50cm
c) 60,5cm x 25cm
64

Johannesburg
The politicians
Wood and paint
48,5cm x 28cm x 14,5cm
Maswanganyi, Collen
Door no 65
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, and received several awards. He was
selected as one of the top ten finalists of the Absa
Atelier Exhibition in 2001.
Description of artwork: Four wooden figures
arecarvedandplacedonawoodenbasewith theDA,ANC
and ID logos carved onto the base.The artwork portrays
the many identities of politicians and how unpredictable
they are.It is left to the viewer to identify them.

Profile: Matthews was born in 1982 and studied for
the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Nelson
Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth. He
obtained the BTech(FA) degree cum laude from the
He has participated in several exhibitions, including
the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2006.
Description of artwork:Achairisanextension
oftheorganichumanform,anafter-imageofitsanatomy.
Conversely,it is structurally dependant on the most rigid
and ordered of human ideas,namely,the right angle.One
of the most elementary expressions of the right angle
being the cross,the Christian myth of a‘man-god’is
unavoidablyimplicated,hisdeathaconsummationof the
concord with materiality.And so the chair becomes
representative of concepts dealing not only with religion
and mortality or materiality but with broader notions of
humanity’s philosophical interactions with itself.
Matthews,Wayne
Port Elizabeth
Sheath your sorrows
Mixed media
(Triptych)
a) 92,5cm x 44,5cm x 49cm
c) 98cm x 53,5cm x 53cm
66

Port Elizabeth
Europa’s libation
Mixed media
46cm x 58cm x 37cm
Matthews,Wayne
Door no 67
’Europa’s libation’ is a metaphoric
application of salt to the wound.An
archaic ‘waterbankie’ or ‘washer-
woman’s bench’ is symbolically
preservedinacrystallisedlayerofsalt,
suspendingtheworkinanephemeral
process.The work extracts moisture
from the air and transports it,along
with some salt,to the tray below.
Accompanying the material
movement of the salt is,more
importantly,conceptual movement;a
flux of implicated meaning that is
evoked by the material’s vast cultural,
anthropological and symbolic
significances.

Profile: McLachlan was born in 1974 and obtained a
BA degree from the University of Natal,majoring in Art
and Drama. He has participated in several exhibitions,
including the Absa Atelier Exhibition in 2001, the Absa
L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2002,2003,2004 ,2005 and 2006.
He also received an Absa L’Atelier Merit Award in 2002.
Description of artwork:Having lived 19 floors
above ground in the middle of downtown
Johannesburg for 4 years,the artist became accustomed
to and yet continually amazed by the unique dichotomy
that is Johannesburg.The inspiration for this
photograph came about while witnessing a rather
simple,everyday ritual namely that of someone bathing.
Simple yet distinctly unique, and vastly removed from
the artist’s own experience. It gave him the feeling of
realness, which was significant.
McLachlan, Alastair James
Johannesburg
Bath house I, 2006
Photography
98cm x 123cm
68

Johannesburg
Coffee stains
Mixed media
(Triptych)
a) 26cm x 34,5cm
b) 26cm x 34,5cm
c) 26cm x 34,5cm
Mdluli, Same Sizakele
Door no 69
Profile: Mdluli was born in 1983 and studied for the
National Diploma in Fine Arts at theTechnikon of the
Witwatersrand.She also studied for the BTech(FA) degree
at the University of Johannesburg.She has participated in
several exhibitions,including the Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions
in 2005 and 2006.She also received several awards.
Description of artwork: ‘Coffee stains’ form
part ofalargerbodyofworkwhichdealswiththenotions
of categorisation of objects made specifically by black
women.Through the use of western domestic subjects
and modes of production,such as lace,doilies and plates,
the works resemble objects often found in western
homes, which are very often perceived as decorative
and/or kitsch within the artistic discourse.The coffee
spills were made by using a coffee mug to form patterns
of doilies which are common in many South African
homes. It also speaks about a sense of sameness in all
homes and refers to the reality of many women of colour
who often do domestic work in many western homes.
Asmuchas theseworksmayseem toreflect,what might
be considered in the art world as sentimental or even
bad taste, their intention is to comment on the nature
of patriarchal categorisation of work made by women
across all cultures.

Profile:Mudau was born in 1974 and studied for the
N2 and N3 Diploma in Arts and Design at the
Dobsonville College, Johannesburg.
Description of artwork: The artist attempts
to portray through this work, the immediate attack
without warning and with the aim to kill, disasters
bestowed on humankind, such as the tsunami.
Mudau, Rendani Ronald
Thohoyandou
Dzumbulukwane
Wood
70

Johannesburg
I join series II
Mixed media
40,5cm x 51cm x 23,5cm
Ngilima, Farrell
Door no 71
Profile: Ngilima was born in 1973 and studied for
the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Technikon of
the Witwatersrand.
Description of artwork: In this instance the
suitcase is used metaphorically as an object implying
travelling, journeying, etc. Here the title suggests
belonging to a group, organisation, incarceration, etc.

Ngwane, Andiswa Astrid
Durban
Untitled
Mixed media
107cm x 65cm
72
Profile: Ngwane was born in
1983 and is currently studying Fine
Arts at the Durban University of
Technology.
This artwork is an enlarged
scanned photograph of the artist
herself. She questions the notion
of originality and also debates the
issue of the role and relevance of
the artist versus that of digital
media. Furthermore she framed
the image behind glass and used
real fabric to create a heightened
sense of suffocation which the
image implies.

East London
Static bind and knot
Mixed media
56,5cm x 117,5cm
Nkosinkulu, Zingisa
Door no 73
Profile: Nkosinkulu was born in 1984 and is currently
studying for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the
Description of artwork: This artwork is a
metaphoric representation of currency, which is used
to pay the electricity.These discs are used to pay for
entry into the municipality system, otherwise you will
be left in the dark.

Profile: O’Flynn was born in 1971 and studied BA(FA)
at the Michaelis School of Fine Art,University of Cape
Town.Hehasparticipatedinseveralexhibitions,including
the Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2004 and 2005.
Description of artwork: The sunseekers are
representatives of South African tourism.They negate
the hole in the ozone, political upheaval or racial
inequality favouring a two week holiday on Clifton and
an escape from their culturally loaded European history.
O’Flynn, Norman Arthur
Bellville
Sunseekers
Mixed media
(Diptych)
a) 21cm x 10,5cm x 11cm
b) 21,5cm x 12cm x 11cm
74

East London
Roles
Photography
(Six-part)
67cm x 57cm each
Pelser, Monique Myren
Door no 75
Profile: Pelser was born in 1976 and studied BA(FA)
at Rhodes University, Grahamstown. She also obtained
an MA(FA) degree with distinction from Rhodes
University.
Description of artwork:The six photographs,
which are details of a larger body of work of fifty images,
are an interrogation of the dynamics between the
photographer and sitter, involved in portrait
photography.The artist took on a process of role-reversal
where she consciously became an object of the gaze
and the sitter took on the role of the photographer and
photographed the artist.The artist literally placed
herself in their role and into their environment.

Profile: Pokroy was born in 1986 and is currently
studying BA(FA) at the University of theWitwatersrand.
Description of artwork:Thesefourimagesare
allinterpretationsofrelativelywell-knownimages,namely
Paul Delaroche’s The Execution of Lady Jane Grey,David
Edwards’Untitled (Aids Pietà) and Pierre et Gilles’St Louis
deGonzague.Theworkdealswiththeprocessofreinventing
recognisable images and applying them to the social,and
even personal,context of herself as an artist.For example,
theuniversalimageof thepietàwasreworkedbyEdwards
and in turn,reinterpreted by the artist.Each adaption
acknowledges the fundamental concerns of the original
image (although,the question arises,what is the true
original?).Yet,it is transformed into timeless issues
experiencedevenincontemporarylife.Existentialquestions
of relationships,religion and identity are broached.
Pokroy, Anthea Tracy
Johannesburg
Untitled
Photography
(Four-part)
a) 24,5cm x 30,5cm
b) 30,5cm x 24,5cm
c) 24,5cm x 30,5cm
d) 24,5cm x 30,5cm
76

Bellville
Study of a drawing studio study
Mixed media
103cm x 200cm
Pretorius, Gert Hendrik
Door no 77
Profile: Pretorius was born in
1985 and is currently studying BA(FA)
at the University of Stellenbosch.
Pretorius works with the concept of
identity. In this work he uses his
privileged background and
education to satirise contemporary
South African society.

Profile: Prins was born in 1981
and studied for the BTech(FA)
degree at the Durban Institute of
Technology. She has participated
in several exhibitions, including
the Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in
2005 and 2006.
The artist attempts to comment on
contemporary society’s impulse to
create and alternate the
representation of reality in order to
sell lifestyles to the indifferent.The
workappearstobedirtyandoldwith
a missing portrait of an arbitrary
person,yet an applause is visually
demanded and the broader society
surrenders to the intentionally
created,exciting stimulation.
Prins, Elizabeth (Liezel)
Durban
Applause
Mixed media
122cm x 68cm x 12,5cm
78

Thohoyandou
Portrait of my brother
Oil on canvas
85,5cm x 61cm
Ramadi,Thikholwi Bethuel
Door no 79
Profile:Ramadi was born in 1984.
This artwork is a portrait of the
artist’s brother.

Profile: Rosin was born in 1975 and studied for the
National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Port Elizabeth
Technikon. He also obtained his BTech(FA) degree cum
laude.
Description of artwork:‘Wartoy’isasimplified
description of a system to assist calculations and
possible predictions of the occurrence of war.
Rosin, Stephen John
Bellville
War toy
Mixed media
26cm x 32cm x 45,5cm
80

Bellville
Uit die mond van die Afrikaner
Photography
(Triptych)
a) 100cm x 68,5cm
b) 105cm x 75,5cm
c) 100cm x 68,5cm
Saayman,Wynand Philippus
Door no 81
Profile: Saayman was born in 1984 and studied
BA(FA) at the University of Stellenbosch.
Description of artwork:The artist is currently
busy with a project where he is investigating his own
identity and that of his family. His further interest lies
in the visual image of the white Afrikaner male and the
influence the media has on the portrayal of the subject.

Profile: Sales was born in 1973 and studied BA(FA)
(Printmaking) at the University of Cape Town, where she
obtained the degree with distinction. She studied MA(FA)
at the University of Cape Town, which she also obtained
with distinction.She has participated in several exhibitions,
including the Absa Atelier Exhibition in 2001 and the Absa
L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2003 and 2004.She was also selected
asoneof the top tenfinalistsof theAbsaL’AtelierExhibitions
in 2003 and 2005.
Description of artwork: The title of the piece is
derived from the notion that as a child the artist believed
that the longer she held her breath the harder she was
praying and the stronger her message to God would be.
The morning her farther died she held her breath and
prayed that he would arrive home safely.
When she decided to explore the issues around the
Helderberg plane crash, she set out to find a prototype
life vest to work from. Her research led her to a safety
company affiliated to SAA.Without revealing what her
intentions were with the vest, she was given an old
damaged life vest, which was exactly the same one that
would have been on the Helderberg passenger aircraft.
Every vest is stamped with a date of production.
Coincidently the one given to her was stamped December
1987.The accident occurred on 28 November 1987.
Sales, Lynda Dorothy (Lyndi)
Bellville
How long can I hold my breath
Mixed media
82cm x 72,5cm
82
Thispieceexplores theparadoxin thefunctionofaphysicallifevest.Ironically
the fragile life vests signify life and death and simultaneously symbolise
safety and danger. A parallel is drawn between the physical body and the
material object. Deteriorating life vests are representative of lungs as a
source of breath and life.The lung functions to inhale and exhale and the
life vest to perform in much the same way as it inflates and deflates.
It is believed that most of the passengers died of smoke inhalation due to
the toxic fire on board.The life vests imitate the fragility of life and act as
a metaphor for a delicate existence and the fact that life and death are
separated by one breath.

Johannesburg
The clustered self
Mixed media
(Diptych)
a) 50cm x 50cm
b) 50cm x 50cm
Shadi, Lerato Mmathapelo Thato
Door no 83
Profile: Shadi was born in 1979 and obtained a
National Diploma in Fine Arts at the University of
Johannesburg. She also obtained a BTech(FA) degree at
the University of Johannesburg.
Decription of artwork:Shadi’s work examines
the notion of sensuality and sexuality as a state of
mind, while simultaneously exposing skin as an erotic
element.The images expose the viewer’s preconceived
notions of intimacy and play into those ideals by
providing a catalyst in the form of abstract flesh that
merely suggests, but reveals very little.

Profile: Spies was born in 1974 and studied BA(FA) at
the University of the Orange Free State. He has
participated in several exhibitions,including theVolkskas
BankAtelierExhibitionin1998,theAbsaAtelierExhibition
in 1999 and the Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2005.
Description of artwork: Thesubjectmatterof
the animation consists of a typical South African‘koppie’
or small hill,although the one depicted in the animation
issituatedjustoutsideBloemfonteinandiscalledSpitskop.
The image of the koppie is built up gradually by the
proliferation of markings which resemble map-like
elements.The animation thus simultaneously reads as a
vertical map as well as a horizontal landscape.Before the
imageof thekoppiereachescompletion,it startsbreaking
down.Thisisnot,however,constant during theanimation.
The animation actually consists of approximately forty
differentsectionsofanimation,eachonadifferenttimeline
length,playing simultaneously on one screen to form a
whole.Superficially the work might read as an attempt to
highlight theissuesoflandreclamationandredistribution,
which is a current issue within the contemporary South
African cultural and political landscape.
Spies,Theodorus, Ignatius Jacobus (Jaco)
Bloemfontein
Palimpsest koppie
Animation
Infinite time
84

Pretoria
Demo kracy is coming
Digital mono print
80cm x 160cm
Steyn, Ras
Door no 85
Profile: Steyn was born in 1978 and studied for the
BTech(FA) degree at the Port Elizabeth Technikon. He
also obtained an MTech(FA) degree cum laude. He has
participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa
L’Atelier Exhibition in 2006.
Description of artwork: This work consists
of four distorted human bodies combined with insect-
like images. Metaphorically it forms a biological body
which serves as a metaphor for socio-political
circumstances.

Profile:Stretton was born in 1980
and obtained a BA(FA) at Rhodes
University, Grahamstown with
distinction. She also obtained an
MA(FA) at the University of Cape
Town with distinction. She has
participated in several exhibitions,
including the Absa L’Atelier
Exhibitions in 2003 and 2006.
Stretton, Pamela Jayne
Bellville
The ambivalence of eating #1
Mixed media
101,5cm x 101,5cm
86

Bellville
Mixed media
101,5cm x 101,5cm
Door no 87

Each of these images shows the
mouth in a specific pose:open,half-
open with the tongue visible and
closed.These images could be read
assomeoftheambiguousresponsive
actions many women feel towards
food and eating.On closer inspection
the works boast another element
entirely.The digital print is pixelated
into a mosaic-type grid,with each
pixel containing a form of
iconography (sourced from various
realmssuchasfoodpackaging,health
and beauty products or fashion
imagery).Themethodsused tocreate
these works involve a controlled and
precisere-workingof theprintsin the
form of cutting up the individual
pixels and rebuilding the images to
produceatexturedandtactilesurface
quality.This serves to reflect on the
obsessivecontrolmanywomenexert
on theirbodiesin thenameofbeauty
and which is often played out in the
form of eating disorders,whether it
be overeating or undereating.
Bellville
Mixed media
101,5cm x 101,5cm
88

Pretoria
Binne my A, B en C
Digital print
147cm x 168cm
Swanepoel, Nicolene
Door no 89
Profile: Swanepoel was born in 1978 and obtained
a BTech(FA) degree cum laude from the Central
University of Technology, Free State.
Description of artwork: This work focuses
on images of a brain scan through which introspection
is possible.

Profile: Swarts was born in 1982
and studied BA(FA) at the University
of Pretoria,which she obtained with
distinction. She has participated in
several exhibitions, including the
Absa L’Atelier Exhibition in 2004.
This work can be described as a
radio installation which consists of
eleven radios mounted onto three
plywood panels connected to three
cattle horns, which represents the
speakers. It can be described as a
contemporary mural for a new
South Africa and comments on the
current language dilemma we are
facing in South Africa.
Swarts,Talita
Pretoria
Kwere-kwere
Mixed media installation
200cm x 200cm x 24,5cm
90

Port Elizabeth
All for glory
Mixed media
(four-part)
66cm x 42,5cm x 15cm each
Taljaard, Johannes Zacharias (Zach)
Door no 91
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 and 2003.
Description of artwork:By photographing
different self-portrait busts and displaying them as
traditional portrait photographs,the artist refers to both
these traditionsasimmortalisationofindividuals.Portrait
sculpture,associated with funerary contexts,was meant
to honour political officials or military commanders, as
photographs later did.This instinctive need to praise
power, triumph and bravery is mockingly glorified with
the addition of a man-made golden light above each
portrait,creating a surrounding radiance or halo usually
associated with a sacred person. On closer inspection
the portraits show signs of damage and is literally worn
out by reproduction using the same mould.Their robes
become millstones around their necks.Centuries of lust
for power,destruction and wealth,clearly burdening
their shoulders and at the same time,burdening the
sons with inherited guilt. Do we want to aspire to this
flawed tradition of‘all for glory’?

Profile: Thompson was born in 1982 and studied for
theBTech(FA)degreeat theNelsonMandelaMetropolitan
University,Port Elizabeth.
Description of artwork:This animation deals
with modern capitalist society and its effect on the
human mind. It looks specifically at our culture of
prescription and social conventions.
Thompson,Wesley John
Port Elizabeth
An ointment
Digital animation
4 min 45 sec
92

Pretoria
Out of darkness I,II, III
Digital photographic prints
(Triptych)
a) 60cm x 42cm
b) 60cm x 42cm
c) 60cm x 42cm
Truter, Carmen Estelle
Door no 93
Profile: Truter was born in 1975
and studied BVA at Unisa. She is
currently reading for an MVA at
Unisa.
The three panels have a mottled
dark background with red/orange
flesh revealed through the removed
darkness. In appearance these flesh-
like parts resemble fishing lures and
cocoons.The organisms resemble
transformation.

Profile: Tully was born in 1976 and studied MA(FA)
at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Description of artwork: These works belong
to a body of work that explores the camera (or optical
artefact) as a device and the notion of the mundane
or incidental subject, as a vehicle for sublime and
sometimes meaningful interpretation and
representation.An important aspect of this work is the
irony of rendering seemingly undeserving content with
the long-standing and esteemed practice of oil painting.
This parody is amusing and also provocatively positions
this work within the discourse of reinventing painting,
painterly virtuosity and the painted subject in the age
of the anti-artist.
Tully, Ann-Marie Patricia
Johannesburg
Jet Park roofscape: Low res/North and South view
Oil on canvas
(Diptych)
a) 29,5cm x 37,5cm
b) 29,5cm x 37,5cm
94

Bellville
Wallflower (Set I)
Mixed media
(Diptych)
a) 177cm x 62cm
b) 193cm x 62cm
Van Eeden, Adrienne
Door no 95
Profile:VanEedenwasbornin1980andstudiedBA(FA)
at theUniversityofStellenbosch,whichsheobtained cum
laude.ShealsoobtainedanMA(FA)withdistinctionat the
sameuniversity. Shehasparticipatedinseveralexhibitions,
including the Absa L’Atelier Exhibitions in 2002 and 2003.
Description of artwork:The work consists
primarily of two pieces of wallpaper with intricate floral
patterns from which all the flowers and leaves have
been removed.This process involves picking the surface
around the flowers with a needle and then tearing each
object out by hand.The result is an imperfect,fragile
and worked surface.The title references not only the
literal art object,but also the colloquial use of the term.

Profile: Walters was born in 1983 and is currently
Description of artwork:This diptych uses the
terms‘object’and‘subject’to refer to the human body
in the states of death and life.Through the restricted
use of colour (cool tones/warm tones) and facial
movement (eyes shut/open),it is intended for the viewer
to read these paintings as an inversion of the life/death
binary thereby opening up the possibility of a
metaphorical and literal resurrection.
Walters, John AttwoodVereker
East London
Object/subject (Self-portraits)
Oil on canvas
(Diptych)
a) 64cm x 85,5cm
b) 64cm x 85,5cm
96

Johannesburg
New signature
Inkjet print
25cm x 30cm
Western, Natalie Anne (Rat)
Door no 97
Profile: Western was born in 1981 and studied BA(FA)
as well as MA(FA) at the University of theWitwatersrand.
Description of artwork:A competition which
aims to acknowledge and promote the career of an
emerging artist needs to examine not only the artwork
submitted for judging, but also the current practice
and achievements of the artist concerned.The work
submitted for this competition is a copy of the cheque,
which the artist received as a runner-up in an art
competition held in 2006.

Whitehead, Johanna Jacoba (Hanje)
Johannesburg
Trike-o-print
Mixed media
159cm x 102cm x 192cm
98
Profile:Whitehead was born in 1985 and is currently
studying BA(FA) at the University of Pretoria.
Description of artwork: The concept of this
piece is based on the effects that modern life has on
sensuality and sexuality.The patterns the artist designed
represent femininity,which becomes a decorative aspect
of contemporary society.The patterns were designed to
make up a print,which represents infinity,symbolising
consumerism as a wheel turning,having no beginning
andnoend.Withrepetitionoftheseelementsofsensuality
and sexuality in the media,we have become apathetic to
ourselves and the beauty of sensuality.

Previous Absa L’AtelierWinners
Door no 99
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
Minnette 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
(Known as Volkskas Bank Atelier Competition up to 1998 and
from 1999 to 2001 known as Absa Atelier Competition)

Previous Absa L’AtelierWinners
100
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
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

0326 absa 2007 l'atelier catalogue lowres

0326 absa 2007 l'atelier catalogue lowres

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