Artist Statement

Print media introduced me to the art world. I learned to make linocuts in my father’s printmaking studio in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Linocut has always been my preferred medium because it forces me to think backwards. Using a chisel to carve out negative space is exciting because it breaks beyond the limitations of a normal pencil mark on paper. My artworks of imaginary human-animal figures, changing landscapes and trees are a celebration of the stories and remarkable objects that I find in the bushveld. I make these images to pay respect to the landscape I grew up in. My images have become a space of alchemy where the blending of the human and animal is possible, and where trees bear witness to the flow of time. I also work in other media including painting, lithography, stop-motion animation, cast bronze and weaving. Process and materials are very important to me, and the charcoal that I use in my animations and drawings is made from trees that I carbonize in a brick kiln I made. When I have time, I explore the rural landscape of Mpumalanga where I find snares, animal skeletons, trees, new plant species, granite hills, and ancient rock paintings which feed into my pallet.