SPRING SALE - 50% and less!
When: 1 September - 1 October 2020.
Venue: Virtual space or at the artist studio, by appointment.
Contact: Natasja at art@natasjadewet.com for more details or visit www.natasjadewet.com/2013-running-towards-yourself
Artist statement: Running Towards Yourself - Humans are in a constant, often unconscious, state of flux between the feminine and masculine sides of their being. Balancing this inherent duality is an emotional challenge that forms part of a psychological journey towards inner peace. The relationship one has with oneself - the Self - is central in this process, as is a commitment to continuously live with a recognition of the realness and significance of the inner life.
Running Towards Yourself explores this internal dialogue involving matters of the soul. This series of portraits explores harmony and repulsion between the feminine and masculine Self and is intended to encourage reflection on the inner life. The body of work is comprised of both posed and process-based portraits, the juxtaposition of which evokes questions of authenticity versus masking of the Self.
Biography: Natasja de Wet was born in South Africa in 1968. She is a fine art and graphic design graduate from the Tshwane University of Technology and continued her studies in drawing and painting at the University of South Africa (UNISA). De Wet’s interest in subtly portraying the human psyche in her visual art led her to study Psychophonetics, an approach to psychotherapy and personal development, at Persephone College under Yehuda Tagar. In 2017, she completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Art at the Michaelis School of Fine Art (University of Cape Town) under the supervision of Associate Professor Virginia McKenny and Senior Lecturer Fabian Saptouw, and graduated with distinction.
Through her work, De Wet aims to reveal the inner character, or soft underbelly, of humankind. Mixed media, drawing, painting and assemblage enable De Wet to visually contemplate internal experiences such as growth, insecurity, sexuality, flux and the various expressions of the human psyche.
De Wet has held numerous solo exhibitions, the most recent of which was titled Melancholia (2019) at the Pathology Museum, UCT Pathology Learning Centre in Cape Town. Her work has also been included in group exhibitions and biennales in South Africa and internationally, some of the most notable being the Florence Biennale (Italy, 2009), the Izmir Biennale (Turkey, 2011) and Afrovibes at Galerie Chiellerie (The Netherlands, 2008). Her works are included in the collections of Sasol Gas; the city of Seinäjoki, Finland and the National Museum, South Africa. Various artworks from De Wet’s body of work Melancholia (2017-2018) are currently on loan to the Pathology Learning Centre, Department of Pathology, UCT Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town.
