Critical theorist Julia Kristeva (1989) notes that “for those who are wracked by melancholia, writing about it would have meaning only if writing sprang out of that very melancholia” (Kristeva, 1989:3). Similarly, my body of work titled Melancholia is intended to be an expression emerging from a melancholic state. This body of work is a personal exploration and material translation of my experience of the melancholic disposition. The work is an attempt to articulate deep-seated sadness and layered introversion, as well as the positive side of the true melancholic. Through an intuitive process of making, I intend to create an awareness on a social level of the strengths and weaknesses of this misunderstood temperament. In this project, I have engaged with this conception of melancholia as a generative mental and emotional state. In an effort to visually and materially translate the inner experience of melancholia in a physical form, the materiality of this body of work hinges on the intuitive selection of mainly found materials that, through their abject qualities, embody my own experience of melancholia. This material interpretation of melancholia involves the dense layering of canvas, in different weights, placed close together and bound by a mixture of glue, paint and detritus swept up off the studio floor, such as hair, broken feathers, dust, ash, small found materials and other ‘muck’. This layering of abject material upon abject material renders dense, yet nuanced forms that are compelling in that they are imbued with, not only darkness and weight but also a contradictory lightness and delicate complexity.
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Acrylic pigment, found muck, glue, canvas
64 x 43 x 14 cm
2017
On loan: University of Cape Town (UCT) Medical School
(click on + to enlarge image)
Oil, acrylic, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, resin, bedding, felt, canvas
250 x 600 x 36 cm
2017
Oil, acrylic, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, resin, bedding, felt, canvas
250 x 600 x 36 cm
2017
Acrylic pigment, found muck, glue, canvas in steel box
53 x 44,5 x 6 cm
2017
Collection: Oliewenhuis Art Museum
Sieved wood fired ash, beeswax, metal box and stand
142 x 44 x 36,5 cm
2017
Sieved wood fired ash, beeswax, metal box and stand
142 x 44 x 36,5 cm
2017
Plastic netting, recycled clothing, gauze, felt, cotton thread, pins
22 x 20 cm
2017
Plastic netting, recycled clothing, gauze, felt, cotton thread
17 x 9,5 cm
2017
Gauze, ball bearings, cotton thread
Various sizes from 1 x 1 x 1 cm to 1 x 1,5 x 1 cm
2017
Recycled clothing, cotton fabric, cotton thread
17 x 10 cm
2018
Wood ash, charcoal, acrylic pigment, wood glue, found muck, canvas
182,5 x 358 cm
2017
Wood ash, charcoal, acrylic pigment, wood glue, found muck, canvas
182,5 x 358 cm
2017
Wood ash, charcoal, acrylic pigment, wood glue, found muck, canvas
182,5 x 358 cm
2017
Wood ash, charcoal, acrylic pigment, wood glue, found muck, canvas
182,5 x 358 cm
2017
Oil, acrylic pigment, found muck, wood glue, felt, cotton thread, pins, canvas, wooden box covered in canvas, metal stand
170 x 43,5 x 35,5 cm
2017
Oil, acrylic pigment, found muck, wood glue, felt, cotton thread, pins, canvas, wooden box covered in canvas, metal stand
170 x 43,5 x 35,5 cm
2017
Plastic netting, recycled clothing, gauze, felt, cotton thread, rubber inner tubes, wool, rope, acrylic pigment, wood glue
Various sizes from 5,4 x 5,4 x 4 cm to 60 x 60 x 15 cm
2017
Oil, acrylic, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, resin, bedding, felt, canvas
250 x 600 x 36 cm
Oil, acrylic, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, resin, bedding, felt, canvas
250 x 600 x 36 cm
Oil, acrylic, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, resin, bedding, felt, canvas
250 x 600 x 36 cm
Oil, acrylic, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, resin, bedding, felt, canvas
250 x 600 x 36 cm
Oil, acrylic, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, resin, bedding, felt, canvas
250 x 600 x 36 cm
Oil, acrylic, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, resin, bedding, felt, canvas
250 x 600 x 36 cm
Melancholia and Beyond (triptych)
Acrylic, pigment, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, canvas
210 x 50 x 5 cm
2018
Melancholia and beyond (triptych)
Acrylic, pigment, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, canvas
210 x 50 x 5 cm
2018
Melancholia and Beyond (triptych)
Acrylic, pigment, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, canvas
210 x 50 x 5 cm
2018
Melancholia and Beyond (triptych)
Acrylic, pigment, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, canvas
210 x 50 x 5 cm
2018
Melancholia and beyond (triptych)
Acrylic, pigment, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, canvas
210 x 50 x 5 cm
2018
Melancholia and beyond (triptych)
Acrylic, pigment, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, canvas
210 x 50 x 5 cm
2018
Melancholia and Beyond (triptych)
Acrylic, pigment, wood ash, industrial enamel, found muck, wood glue, canvas
210 x 50 x 5 cm
2018
Layered Introversion (collection)
Plastic netting, ribbon, previously used canvas, cotton fabric, cotton thread
Various sizes
2019
Layered Introversion (collection)
Plastic netting, ribbon, previously used canvas, cotton fabric, cotton thread
Various sizes
2019
Layered Introversion (collection)
Plastic netting, ribbon, previously used canvas, cotton fabric, cotton thread
Various sizes
2019
Layered Introversion (collection)
Plastic netting, ribbon, previously used canvas, cotton fabric, cotton thread
Various sizes
2019
Layered Introversion (collection)
Plastic netting, ribbon, previously used canvas, cotton fabric, cotton thread
Various sizes
2019
Layered Introversion (collection)
Plastic netting, ribbon, previously used canvas, cotton fabric, cotton thread
Various sizes
2019
Layered Introversion (collection)
Plastic netting, ribbon, previously used canvas, cotton fabric, cotton thread
Various sizes
2019
Layered Introversion (collection)
Plastic netting, ribbon, previously used canvas, cotton fabric, cotton thread
Various sizes
2019
Layered Introversion (collection)
Plastic netting, ribbon, previously used canvas, cotton fabric, cotton thread
Various sizes
2019