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In an environment where art competitions come and go, I am proud to be the patron of Absa L ’Atelier’s 23rd competition. It’s not only the oldest art award in the Southern hemisphere, it is also the richest in Africa. And it remains the most prestigious award on any South African artist’s CV.

Aimed at nurturing young talent, Absa L ’Atelier has been instrumental in launching many careers in the visual arts. A number of the fi nalists have developed into success stories.Last year, the Alliance Française, the French Institute and the French Embassy renewed its sponsorship of the Gerard Sekoto Award for the most promising artist with an income of less than R60 000 per annum. We thank them for their continued support for L ’Atelier and their investment in our young artists.Further testimony to the success of our competition is the steady rise in the quality of works entered. This year the standard was exceptionally high, and the judges had their work cut out to select the fi nalists, the merit award winners and the two top awards.

We at Absa also pay close attention to the concerns our young people communicate through their art. It is quite moving how articulate they are in the visual form they give to the challenges they face. Violence and crime is still highly prevalent in their work. Lately issues of identity started surfacing, and this year a deep inner search was refl ected in this regard.

I would like to congratulate all of the winners. Make the most of this opportunity to further your careers.

And to all the others: apply the valuable experience you have gained, and keep up the good work. We hope to meet you again next year!

Steve Booysen Absa Group Chief Executive

Foreword

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Celia de Villiers Coordinator of National Selection

Frikkie EksteenPretoria

David JonesPort Elizabeth

Theo KleynhansCape Town

Melissa MboweniJohannesburg

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.

2008 Absa L ’Atelier Awards Catalogue

ISBN 978-0-620-41294-0

National selection panel

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, Polokwane, Pretoria and Thohoyandou by a local panel of selectors guided by Celia de Villiers on behalf of the National President of SANAVA. The selected works of art have been sent to Johannesburg for fi nal adjudication.

The Absa L ’Atelier Award

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IntroductionArt gives us the opportunity to reappraise the ambiguities, which surround us and give new meaning to them. In the Absa L ’Atelier Awards, this happens through a democrat-ic process of adjudication, which involves analytical viewing, interpretation, appraisal and the selection of artworks. Final decisions are based on socially determined factors such as the juror’s ethnicity, gender, knowledge of formal art principles and a familiar-ity with contemporary international art trends. Owing to these differences, there are often disagreements, although this year’s winner was a unanimous choice. Once the selection has been made, the opinions of jurors are transferred to the viewers, resulting in the notion that the selected artworks are objects of value. This valuation is not only reliant on the juror’s understanding of the orthodoxies of a particular moment in the history of a society, but also an understanding of the viewer and the artist.

The young artists who enter competitions like the Absa L’ Atelier Awards do not merely produce artworks. They manipulate contemporary cultural signs. They refl ect the chal-lenge of defi ning and measuring the effectiveness of a sense of self within dominant socio-cultural myths and media. For many artists, conveying meaning through the presentation, measuring and shaping of attitudes and beliefs results in a confronta-tion of their personal fears. In 2008 this process of osmosis has revealed the current thematic concerns of prohibition and transgression.

With the unstable regulation of social order in South Africa at present, it seems deeply human for the average citizen to have an idealised, unrealistic and mythi-cal desire to be in a situation of predictable unity and stability. The current surge of transgression against this impulse is refl ected in numerous artworks. Two primary taboos, death and sexuality, emerged repeatedly in all the adjudicated regions. Another theme this year was the acceleration of violence and its infl uence on young people. These trends might be explained by the 20th century French writer Georges Bataille, who has drawn attention to the inevitable connection between the horror of death and eroticism, since both deal with mortality. The fear of death and pain is the opposite of pleasure, whereas eroticism holds the promise of the abolition of limits and eventual immortality. The exponential presence of crime and the AIDS pandem-ic ensures that these thoughts pervade the consciousness of most contemporary South Africans. The narratives of the artists included in this show, many of which are poetic in nature, evidence an emotional eroticism, which has today perhaps become more dependable than physical eroticism.

To condense the selection of the 23rd Absa L ’Atelier Awards, one need only examine the judges’ criteria. It is hoped that the works on show will be found to be authentic, sincere and socially relevant, possessing integrity and a unique South African fl avour.

Celia de Villiers Coordinator

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It is a singular privilege and with great satisfaction that I, on behalf of the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA), may extend a word of warm appreciation to Absa, and its relevant personnel, for having organised this very successful 23rd Absa L ’Atelier Competition, hosted in collaboration with SANAVA. The sustained efforts by Absa in promoting the development of the visual arts, and in particular the artistic potential of all young South African artists, whose talents should be stimulated or roused from its slumber, are indeed highly valued.

I pay tribute to all participants in this esteemed, long running national competition, and congratulate those whose outstanding merit will be recognised. To those who have not been fortunate enough, this time, to be selected for the top team, I wish to say ‘bon courage’ for next time. And to the judges, country-wide, ‘many, many thanks’ for the time that you have sacrifi ced during the adjudication process. Your contribution is much appreciated.

Anton Loubser National President, SANAVA

Absa L ’Atelier Competition : 2008

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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 volun-tary 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 even-tually 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.

James Webb’s masterpieceW

inne

r BellvilleAuto hagiographyMixed media69,5cm x 182cm x 64cm

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Christiaan Johannes Hattingh’s masterpiecePretoria

Generate-mutate-translateInteractive digital projection

Infi nite time

M er

it A

war

d

BellvillePortrait of schizophreniaPhotography151,5cm x 104cm

M er

it A

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dLunga Kama’s masterpiece

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Alhyrian Laue’s masterpiece

M er

it A

war

dPort ElizabethAn evening of social tightrope walking

Mixed media180cm x 73cm x 60,5cm

BellvilleUntitled (Eugene Terre’Blanche)Mixed media79cm x 119cm

M er

it A

war

dAntonia Digna Steyn’s masterpiece

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PretoriaDissolved course

Photographic print84cm x 116,5cm

Gera

rd Se

koto

Aw

ardSophia Margaretha (Retha) Ferguson’s masterpiece

Top ten fi nalists1 Suzanne Duncan

3 Retha Ferguson

2 Stephan Erasmus

4 Christiaan Hattingh

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5 Lunga Kama

8 Antonia Steyn

6 Alhyrian Laue

9 James Webb

7 Stephen Rosin

10 Sicelo Ziqubu

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Profile:Armstrong was born in 1985 and studied BA(FA) at Rhodes University, Grahamstown.

Description of artwork:The Rabbit-women were made without a predetermined theme or concept and came from the artist’s subconscious dream state. The human-animal hybrid seems to embody the mixed symbolism and incongruities that occur in dream states.The overtly feminine rabbits have a strong resonance of fragility and vulner-ability. This is evident in the heavily preg-nant stomachs and the precariousness of the rabbits’ relationship to the ground. Pregnancy could be a dual metaphor for the anticipation of subconscious thoughts that seem to grow and emerge in one’s dreams and of the cavities in which one hides and hibernates.

Armstrong, Beth DianeEast LondonRabbit-womenMixed media(Triptych)a) 125cm x 40cm x 40cmb) 125cm x 40cm x 40cmc) 125cm x 40cm x 40cm

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Armstrong, Beth DianeEast London

Bird-menMixed media

(Triptych)a) 43cm x 13,5cm x 15cmb) 43cm x 13,5cm x 15cmc) 43cm x 13,5cm x 15cm

Description of artwork: The Bird-men were created from a subcon-scious dream state. The overtly masculine birds seem to speak of vulnerability that, although they appear proud and powerful, they actually are quite impotent in their inability to fl y – as their arms merge into amorphous, fl ightless wings.

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Arthur, KateEast LondonUntitled (Father)Oil on canvas200cm x 149cm

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Profile:Arthur was born in 1985. She studied BA(FA) at Rhodes University, Grahamstown and is currently reading for an MA(FA) at Rhodes University, Grahamstown.

Description of artworks:The two larger-than-life portraits of the artist’s parents were painted in an exercise of dedication to examine and explore the geography of two faces she knows so well. Yet at the same time she has diffi culty penetrating the psyche of the individuals (hence the closed eyes), because it is only now, as she is becom-ing an adult, that she realises that her mother and father are not just parents but unique individuals. Painting their faces in this manner was part of a pro-cess to understand them, herself and their relationship.

East LondonUntitled (Mother)

Oil on canvas200cm x 148cm

Arthur, Kate

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Profile:Bissett was born in 1982.

Bissett, Diederik Johannes MüllerPretoriaOranje, blanje, blouGraphic print93cm x 150cm

Description of artwork:The graphic print resembles a fl ag due to its format, which derived from a still frame animation. The animation consisted of three separate panels, which functioned independently as well as inter-dependently. The print does not contain all the images but only sections thereof. Although the title points to po-litical undertones, it can be experienced as a fun piece.

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Profile:Botha was born in 1985 and studied BA(FA) at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein. She is currently reading for an MA(FA) at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.

Description of artwork:The painting portrays two enlarged feet with ballet shoes. Conceptually the art-work comprises of the dialectic relation-ship between anti-theatricality in a space of theatrical performance.

Botha, Anna Magrietha (Magriet)Bloemfontein

VoetnotaOil on canvas

170cm x 170,5cm

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Profile:Chiazzari was born in 1985 and studied for the National Diploma in Studio Arts at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth. She also obtained the BTech degree in Stained Glass cum laude at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth.

Description of artwork:This body of work is based on an explora-tion into the theme of woman and vanity. As a medium, glass has an essential link to this association. Women, when looking in a mirror, can be said to gaze at themselves in a way that can be described as “looking to be looked at”, which allows them to con-struct a sense of self and femininity from

a voyeuristic perspective. The four stained glass windows are symbolic of the daily battle between refl ection and reality. These windows are mounted in baroque style mirror frames, suggestive of classical ideals and ornament. These frames have areas of translucency that suggest skin and the relationship between interior and exterior, body and beauty.The signifi cance of the work is to illustrate that women are routinely encouraged from an early age to take care of and main-tain the beautiful exterior that is vital to society’s concept of femininity. Women are encouraged to accept this attitude towards their gender and are further expected to behave and dress in a way that caters for this system.

Chiazzari, Anva MayPort ElizabethSeries 1: Put a tiger in your tank , An inch of glamour, Lash me and Stay lacedMixed media(Four-part)74cm x 50cm each

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Claassens, Katrine Brink

Profile:Claassens was born in 1985 and studied BA(FA) at the University of Stellenbosch.

Description of artwork:The work comprises an installation of six oil paintings with each painting depict-

ing sparklers in the night. The paintings are executed on board and framed on the back in order not to overwhelm or distract anything from the fl eeting quality of the small works. The source material for the paintings were found on the Internet and translated into oil paint, a more formal manner of representation.

BellvilleLast chance lost (Sparklers, 1997)

Mixed media(Six-part)

a) 19,5cm x 32cm b) 22,5cm x 17,5cm c) 22,3cm x 27,5cm d) 20cm x 23cm e) 27,5cm x 30,5cm f) 17cm x 21,5cm

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Profile:Conradie was born in 1973 and studied BA(FA) at Unisa, which he obtained cum laude. He also obtained an MA(VA) at the University of Pretoria.

Description of artwork:These artworks consist of two close-up digital prints of decaying leather, printed back onto leather. The images were taken in Paul Kruger’s offi ce in Pretoria of his chair, now eerily silent and strangely empty. The ambiguity of passage ways and transitional spaces are used to construct an aesthetic of anticipation. The immaterial, allusive details of the images offer only a frame-work of association, signifying states of change, loss and absence.

Conradie, Johannes Hendrik (Johan)PretoriaCouncil chamber I & IIDigital print on leather(Diptych)a) 60cm x 87cmb) 60cm x 87cm

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Profile:Danca was born in 1978 and studied Graphic Design at the Durban Insti-tute of Technology. He has participat-ed in several exhibitions.

Description of artwork:The artwork portrays grannies who are always there to do the shopping and the artist hopes that it will never change.

Danca, Welcome S’phiweDurban

ShoppingAcrylic on board50,5cm x 66cm

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Description of artwork:In the townships young children visit the taverns because this is where they experience fun and at the end of the day they end up falling in love with a sugar mama.

Danca, Welcome S’phiweDurbanTavernAcrylic on board50,5cm x 66cm

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De Beer, Carolina Davidina (Davina)

Profile:De Beer was born in 1982. She studied BA(FA) as well as MA(FA) at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.

Description of artwork:De Beer focused her research on the raptures that occur in the continuity of family memories. Distorsie (Distortion) addresses aspects of memory preser-vation that deals with estrangement, anonymity, absence and mortality. The interplay between exposure and conceal-ment is used to examine the discontinu-ities in history and memory in the private and public spheres. ‘Distorsie’ invokes family history simultaneously as specifi c and universal and explores different variations of the past.

BloemfonteinDistorsie

Mixed media82cm x 122cm x 86,3cm

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De Jager, RonélJohannesburgHusse met lang oreMixed media(Eight-part)88cm x 21cm each

Profile:De Jager was born in Johannesburg in 1985.

Description of artwork:The title of the work refers to an old Afri-kaans expression to identify children who are very curios and nosy about something.

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Profile:Duncan was born in 1981 and studied BA(FA) at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town.

Description of artwork:The handkerchief and the roll of gauze both refer to the vulnerability of the body. Gauze is used in the attempt to protect a wound while the handkerchief is used to hide and clean up the bodily fl uids that may otherwise expose that which is unsanitary. Without these protective implements we would be in closer proximity to the animal.

Duncan, Suzanne Elizabeth BeavanBellville

Gauze and handkerchiefHuman hair

(Diptych) a) 73cm X 60cm b) 73cm X 60cm

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Erasmus, Marthinus Stephanus (Stephan)JohannesburgThe boatMixed media200cm x 200cm x 200cm

Profile:Erasmus was born in 1976. He studied for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Technikon of the Witwatersrand as well as for the BTech (FA) degree at the Technikon of the Witwatersrand. He also completed a Master’s 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 and 2006.

Description of artwork:The boat is constructed from approximately 65 460 matchsticks on which the words ‘I love her’ were written on all four sides.This work focuses on two main ideas, the metaphor of the boat as the love between two people, sailing a river of life and the obsessive nature with which writing and construction has been carried out.The metaphor of the ‘love boat’ traversing an ocean can be found in various examples in contemporary love songs. Through this work this metaphor is made physical. Where the fragile matchsticks construction mirrors the fragility of the love between two people and the match’s potential of fi re becomes passion. The river carrying the

boat becomes life, through which the relationship has to navigate calm water as well as raging torrents while keeping together those it carries. Here the water as a base element stands in direct opposition to the element of fi re, as once was said ‘there is love and its enemy is life’.

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Profile:Essop was born in 1985 and studied BA(FA) at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town.

Description of artwork:Kavali is the traditional name for this genre of music, predominantly Indian. The image presents the artist’s tradition and heritage that has been passed down by generations. Taken in Bo-Kaap (The noon gun), the environment creates the atmosphere for a spiritual calling. The music is played to strengthen one’s faith.

Essop, HasanBellville

KavaliPhotographic print

88cm x 129cm

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Profile:Essop was born in 1985 and studied BA(FA) at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town.

Description of artwork:The title of the work describes the group to which the uniform belongs. The image comments on the ‘Coon’ culture that exists strictly in Cape Town. It originated from the slaves who arrived in Cape Town with the Dutch occuption, of whom many were Muslim or converted to Islam. Not being allowed to practise their religion, they found ways to pray through song, and when questioned about it their response was that they were having a party. It has thus evolved over time and is still practised today, changed to suit the vibrant atmosphere of Cape Town.

Essop, HusainBellvillePennsylvaniansDigital photographic print88cm x 129cm

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Profile:Etsebeth was born in 1986 and is currently studying Fine Arts at the University of Johannesburg.

Description of artwork:The work depicts abused children in South Africa and represents a child’s view of his/her abused life.

Etsebeth, ChanelJohannesburg

My birthday wishSilkscreen

44cm x 73,5cm

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Profile:Ferguson was born in 1984 and studied BA(FA) at the University of Pretoria. She has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2007.

Description of artwork:The work attempts to dissolve prevalent tendencies in contemporary art discourse, which force artworks to conform to academi-cally rigid readings. By refusing to supply the

viewer with any absolute meaning, the work supports a more organic, fl uid approach in art discourse. It highlights the intangible aspects of art and compels the viewer to confront the work on a subconscious level rather than taking a theoretically loaded approach. Consequently the work invites the viewer to develop a totally subjective and personal interpretation, insisting that there is no ab-solute meaning to art as there is no absolute meaning to the world itself.

Ferguson, Sophia Margaretha (Retha)PretoriaDissolved coursePhotographic print84cm x 116,5cm

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Profile:Fourie was born in 1984 and studied for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria. He is currently studying for the BTech(FA) degree at the Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria.

Description of artwork:The video captured a request sent from a cellphone to the I-fi nd Information Directory service. The request is to fi nd God. The primary concept behind the work is that in the daily information age in which we live, it is possible that one can experience divinity via something that is so second-hand and has been the by-product of mercantile-orientated business. We would rather surround ourselves with our own creations than what has existed for millennia.

Fourie, Louis FrancoisPretoria

ExpostulationDigital video

1min 49sec

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Profile:Fuller was born in 1974 and studied BA(FA). He has participated in the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2007.

Description of artwork:If is a portrait of the artist and his brother standing side by side. It was taken with a camera built by the artist himself. The camera has hundreds of lenses, which work together as a unit. Although each is unique in the way in which it lets the light into the camera, they share a common thread. This thread is a moment or a view that they witness together. In this case it is the event of the artist and his brother standing together. Next to the artist’s ghostlike image he appears as a faint trace, almost impossible to discern. If things had been different they may never have had the chance to share this moment as the artist only learnt that he had a brother when he was 25 years old. The myriad different images of them standing together is a suggestion of all the ‘ifs’ that surround their relationship. For each it is the fi rst step on a path to a tangled mess of speculation.

Fuller, St John James ZairJohannesburgIfPinhole photography155cm x 106cm

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Description of artwork:Been there is a photograph of the Natural History Museum in Pretoria. It has been taken with a camera built by the artist himself. The camera has hundreds of lenses, which work together as a unit. Although each is unique in the way in which it lets the light into the camera, they share a common thread. This thread is a moment or a view that they witness together. In this case it is the museum and the skeleton that hangs outside the museum. The photograph can be seen as a busload of tourists who are disembarking. Each has a moment to look around, to take in the view. For some the ability to see and recollect clearly at a later stage is strong. The memory is defi nite but for others this is not the case.

Fuller, St John James ZairJohannesburg

Been therePinhole photography

155cm x 106cm

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Profile:George was born in 1974. She studied for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Technikon Free State, Bloemfontein. She also studied for the BTech (FA) degree at the Technikon Free State, Bloemfontein. She has participated in several exhibi-tions, including the Volkskas Bank Atelier exhibitions in 1996, 1997 and 1998. She also participated in the Absa Atelier Exhibition in 1999 and the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2002.

Description of artwork:This work incorporates discarded and banal found objects, loaded with intima-tions of decay and degeneration. Redun-dant items, each at a different stage of decay, become the protagonist of death. Mites, dust and dirt also play an integral role in the process of death. In these works the hypothesis of the formerly valuable items comes into play, another metaphor for the status of death.

George, Peneria Venessa Ansley (Penny)BloemfonteinMite in butterfl y wing,Dust mite in digestive system of a snail and Leaf mite Protozoa Tetrahymena PyriformisMixed media(Triptych)a) 70cm x 70cmb) 59,5cm x 59,5cmc) 60cm x 60cm

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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 several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibitions in 2005 and 2006.

Description of artwork:This work is based on a sketchbook of observational drawings (a type of visual journal) made during a residency in Solothurn, Switzerland. The selected images are of people/animals/objects in transit.

Grobler, LizaBellville

Travel drawings (Switzerland)Mixed media

200cm x 200cm

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Profile:Hattingh was born in 1974 and studied B.Eng (Metal) at the University of Pretoria. He obtained a certifi cate in Professional Photography at the New York Institute of Photography. He also studied BA(C&A) at Unisa, which he obtained with distinction.

Description of artwork:Generate-mutate-translate expands the concept of algorithmic interaction to a

macro scale: life-systems on earth are also subject to dynamically programmed algorithmic sets, which interact with each other: an example is genetic code, which in essence is a type of algorithmic procedure combining strands of DNA to produce a particular sequence of code (that generates a particular organism). Through the infl uence of the environ-ment and natural/artifi cial selection the best ‘algorithm’ survives, enabling the organism to adapt and recreate.

Generate-mutate-translate is a fantasy based upon this concept: algorithmically generated forms are mutated, hybridised and presented as an interactive species chart. The species chart can be navi-gated and enlarged to show details of a particular algorithmic form, allowing the user to also switch between multiple translations of the code. The generative algorithms that form the underpinning of this work are based upon Lindenmayer systems.

Hattingh, Christiaan JohannesPretoriaGenerate-mutate-translateInteractive digital projectionInfi nite time

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Description of artwork:A high-end camera that analyses the image before it and then selects the most appropriate exposure setting is a typical example of a pattern recognition algo-rithm that employ ‘fuzzy logic’. Pattern recognition as a concept is considered as one of the primary ingredients of machine intelligence (Theodoridis 2003:1). The work pattern recognition ‘plays’ with the notion of compulsive pattern recognition – a situation where the recognition algorithm does not necessarily have functional value, but instead exhibits characteristics akin to a phobia – as in the fi lm ‘A beautiful mind’ (2001), where the main character exhibits negative side effects as a result of his extraordinary ability to recognise patterns. Pattern recognition ponders whether artifi cial intelligence could exhibit the same compulsive behaviour.

Hattingh, Christiaan JohannesPretoria

Pattern recognitionInteractive digital projection

Infi nite time

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Profile:Human was born in 1981. She studied BA(FA) at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein. She has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibitions in 2003, 2004 and 2006.

Description of artwork:The artwork consists of roses and patterns layered on an orange/yellow background with a springbok symbol and emblems hidden in the background.

Human, Phyllis Marjorie (Neé Vermeulen)BloemfonteinRoses and antelopesMixed media160,5cm x 160cm

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Profile:Janse van Rensburg was born in 1985 and studied for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Tshwane University of Technol-ogy, Pretoria. She also obtained a BTech(FA) degree with distinction at the Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria.

Description of artwork:The installation consists of wooden parquet fl oor pieces, with cut-out fi gures in the centre of every block. There is a slight disruption in the pattern as one block is left out and a bigger version of the fi gure appears in the bottom left corner. The medium used is a combination of Rhodesian teak and pink beachwood because of its soft and feminine qualities.

Janse van Rensburg, DanéllePretoria

Fragments of herMixed wood

200cm x 200cm

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Profile:Jansen van Vuuren was born in 1985 and studied BA(FA) at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is currently reading for an MA(FA) at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Description of artwork:Jansen van Vuuren’s work deals with contemporary portraiture, focusing on the angst, fears, apathy, joy, general concerns, pre-occupations and intimate thoughts of his subjects towards con-temporary living in South Africa. These concerns are interrogated through fi lmed interviews from which stills are isolated and edited to be used as source material for the paintings.Conversation II was painted from a series of edited digital photographs taken during an interview with a woman when questions were asked about what angered her in South Africa.

Jansen van Vuuren, NathanJohannesburgConversation IIOil on canvas100cm x 100cm

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Profile:Kama was born in 1982.

Description of artwork:This colour photograph is a sensitive image of mental illness and depression.

Kama, LungaBellville

Portrait of schizophreniaPhotography

151,5cm x 104cm

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Profile:Keith was born in 1972 and studied BA(FA) at the University of Pretoria. She also studied MA(FA) at the University of Stellenbosch. She has participated in several exhibitions, including the Volkskas Bank Atelier Exhibition in 1996, the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibitions in 2006 and 2007 where she was selected as one of the top ten fi nalists.

Description of artwork:Keith reworks the multifold, simulta-neous and confusing inner and outer realities experienced by young women of today. The impact and relevance of her paintings extend beyond the confi nes of any particular group. For it is the rapidly changing and fl uid character of identi-ties she is exploring. Selfhood appears to draw upon interplay and fusion of various infl uences, often rooted in agony – stemming not only from the artist’s personal experience, but perceived in the lives of others.

Keith, MarliseBellvilleMoerMixed media100cm x 99,5cm

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Profile:Keyser was born in 1985 and is currently studying for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria.

Description of artwork:This artwork is a solid cement tower with taps running through it. It is covered with red and green patina. This work is a personal comment on thirst in our country and is a metaphor for a thirst for the Word of God.

Keyser, David Johannes Petrus (Duif)Pretoria

Die warm kraanCement and iron

192cm x 75cm x 62cm

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Profile:Khoza was born in 1986 and is currently studying Fine Arts at the University of Johannesburg.

Description of artwork:In this artwork entitled Aliens, Khoza depicted Nigerian (yuruba) sculptures as a metaphor for the foreigners that invade our country. He focussed more on the Nigerians because they are often notorious and they stand out in a crowd because of their height and the clothes they wear. Many of them sell drugs in Johannesburg and therefore he tries to convey the way in which many South African people perceive the Nigerian people as criminals, and they are threatened by them.

Khoza, JitoJohannesburgAliensAcrylic on canvas board(Triptych)a) 25cm x 25cmb) 25cm x 25cmc) 25cm x 25cm

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Profile:Kocha was born in 1985 and studied for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria. He is currently studying for the BTech(FA) degree at the Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria.

Description of artwork:This work addresses the need for read-ing in South Africa. Instead of listening to instructions the South African soci-ety should read. The small print is not there to fill the space. Read the terms and conditions.

Kocha, Mohlomi LehlohonoloPretoria

Open your eyes to hearChalk on canvas

(Five-part)30,5cm x 40,5cm each

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Profile:Kritzinger 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 Pretoria.

Description of artwork:In The abyss one is confronted with the ‘Tokkelossie’ in abstract form, as a monster creeping into one’s dreams. The sculpture is stacked on bricks, in order to keep the short creature at bay. The ‘Tokkelossie’ is notorious for raping people in their beds while they are sleep-ing at night. The phenomenon strongly relates to small children being molested in their homes by family members. Hor-rifi c situations like molestation usually continue for years and become a living nightmare for the victims.

Kritzinger, LouiseJohannesburgThe abyssMixed media200cm x 93cm x 82cm

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Profile:Kruger was born in 1972 and studied BA(FA) at the University of Stellenbosch. She also obtained a MTech(FA) degree with distinction from the Technikon of the Witwatersrand. She has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa Atelier Exhibition in 1999 and the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2006.

Kruger, MariekeBellville

Hannah IMixed media

34cm x 101cm

Description of artwork:The artwork, which consists of a series of fi ve prints, pays tribute to the artist’s grandmother who died in 1977. Kruger was only four years old at the time of her death, but she can still remember the personal encounters she had with her as a child. Much controversy surrounded

her death at the time, seeing that she committed suicide. This artwork deals with issues surrounding physical, spiritual and emotional loss, her own identity as well as memories of her grandmother. She also explores issues concerned with the separation that comes with the death of a loved one.

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Laue, Alhyrian Albert BishopPort ElizabethAn evening of social tightrope walkingMixed media180cm x 73cm x 60,5cm

Profile:Laue was born in 1985 and studied for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth. He is currently studying for the BTech(FA) degree at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth.

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Laue, Alhyrian Albert BishopPort ElizabethCulp shrinkingMixed media

124cm x 91,5cm x 101cm

Description of artworks:Laue explores the metaphorical interplay between masculine and feminine, and the space between these two opposing ‘bodies’. These sculptures may be described as the space where these ‘bodies’, or binary qualities, lock in perpetual attraction towards their potential consummation. The space that is also the sculpture may equally be seen as a delay of the inevitable marriage, the structural default to transform.The cupboard which forms the sculp-ture’s body can be read as a vessel of alchemical process where opposites interweave in search of fusion.

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Profile:Le Roux was born in 1973 and studied for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Technikon Pretoria. He has participated in several exhibitions, including the Volkskas Atelier Exhibitions in 1996 and 1997. He also participated in the Absa Atelier Exhibition in 2000.

Description of artwork:With this work, entitled Stoel met stuk hout en ysterklip is an anthropomorphic

diptych of lab chairs that may be seen as a family of some sort, like a husband and wife proudly standing next to each other. The fi rst chair is portrayed with an erect piece of wood, which is partly damaged on the one corner, and the second chair has a stone on it, it could remind us of the phrase, “When you strike a woman you strike a stone”. The work is very quiet and formally clean with astonishing attention to detail. The entire piece is made of manipulated steel.

Le Roux, RenierPretoriaStoel met stuk hout en ysterklipSteel(Diptych)a) 87,5cm x 48cm x 36,5cmb) 80cm x 50cm x 36,5cm

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Profile:Liversage was born in 1973 and studied for the National Higher Diploma in Fine Arts at the Technikon of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein. She also studied for the BTech(FA) degree at the Technikon Free State, Bloemfontein. She has participated in several exhibitions, including the Volkskas Bank Atelier Exhibitions in 1995 and 1996. She also participated in the Absa L ‘Atelier Exhibition in 2005.

Description of artwork:The subject matter concerns urban symbols. The medium is silk ribbons, which is associated with the awareness on social issues affecting primarily the vulnerable sectors of society namely women and children. These symbols are used as visual messages of protest against the turbulence and crisis, which has affected South Africa’s social structure and remains one of the greatest challenges of our times.The subject matter is a Protea, which is South Africa’s national flower. This symbol is used as a national road sign in South Africa to identify a conservation area. Conserving indigenous vegetation has become a priority in our country and she linked this element with the silk ribbon worn to generate awareness of three epidemics. The red ribbon creates awareness of HIV/Aids, whilst the white ribbon symbolises unity against abuse of women and children. The pink ribbon creates awareness of breast cancer amongst women.

Liversage, Kilmany-Jo (Neé Hunt)Bellville

National tribute I, II, IIIMixed media

(Triptych) a) 69cm x 107cm b) 69cm x 107cm c) 69cm x 107cm

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Profile:Lossgott was born in Germany in 1980 and studied BJourn at Rhodes Univer-sity, Grahamstown. He also obtained an Advanced Diploma in Visual Arts from Unisa.

Description of artwork:The video is a meditation on time, language and the changing body. Unlike plants, which blossom, bear fruit and die, human life is linear. We are different people at different times, as we grow and adapt we invent personal myths to make sense of the constant radical changes in the fast-paced world around us. Perhaps we are not evolved enough to live at this speed. In this video, images of the artist between the ages of fi fteen and twenty-eight built into sequences, which interrupt themselves, run backwards at times and blend into each other along the symmetrical growth cleft, which unites all mutations of sentient life. Plant, human or animal, our biological processes bear certain similarities, and these processes are the only things we can be certain of.

Lossgott, KaiBellvilleCull’tivateVideo3min 9sec

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Lückhoff, Albert BailieBellville

World-wide warming (global warming)Acrylic on canvas

70cm x 100cm

Profile:Lückhoff was born in 1972. He attended art classes at the Community Art Centre. He has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2005.

Description of artwork:In this work Lückhoff addresses the issue of global warming.

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Lückhoff, Albert BailieBellvilleBiosphere (Nature reserve – United Nations)Oil on board58cm x 176,5cm

Description of artwork:Biosphere depicts aspects of nature as seen in this landscape painting.

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Profile:Machaba/Baloyi was born in 1974 and was taught art while he was serving 18 years in prison. Description of artwork:Machaba/Baloyi depicts the daily rituals of women in a community where they are often taken for granted. Women provide stability in society and through this stability they prevent crime.

Machaba/Baloyi, Samuel PheaganaPolokwane

Life goes onAcrylic on canvas

55cm x 63,5cm

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Profile:Mailula was born in 1981 and studied for the N6 National Certifi cate in Art and De-sign at the Northern Province Community College. Description of artwork:Mailula portrays a women’s cultural group dancing in a place called Motumo in Matoks (Botlokwa).

Mailula, Sepolwana JonasPolokwaneCultural danceAcrylic on board57cm x 76,5cm

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Profile:Makgahlela was born in 1981. Description of artwork:The jeer jeopardises and kindles discord. Gossip and lies are unacceptable.

Makgahlela, SeemaPolokwane

Lying womenWood

83cm x 35,5cm x 32,5cm

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Makoba, RamaruthaJohannesburgRecognise the childMarley tile etching70cm x 90cm

Profile:Makoba was born in 1984 and studied art at Fuba as well as at the Artist Proof Studio.

Description of artwork:Makoba expresses the fact that we need to recognise and support our children who need guidance to influence their future.

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Profile:Marx was born in 1977 and studied for the BTech(FA) degree at the Technikon Pretoria. She is currently reading for an MA(FA) at the University of the Witwa-tersrand. She has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa Atelier Exhibitions in 1999 and 2000.

Description of artwork:Marx worked with frozen bodies of water as surface for inscription. As a landscape intervention, the work involved the moving of stones in a wheelbarrow over a substantial distance, from the river Rhône to a leak in the heart of Bois de Finges in Sierre, Switzerland and the subsequent placing, writing with stone onto the precariously frozen surface of the water. The artwork employs palimpsest and erasure as device: in writing with stones on ice, I created a Freudian ‘mystic writing pad’ or ‘perceptual apparatus’. The impact of the work is accentuated by one’s ability to envision the text being swallowed by the water as the ice melts.

Marx, Maja (Neé Pfeiffer)Johannesburg

I am the world on which I walkDigital photograph

(Triptych)a) 69cm x 92,5cmb) 69cm x 92,5cmc) 69cm x 92,5cm

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Description of artwork:Pedestrian poetry, points to an urban account of landscape inscription: in ap-plying a textual intervention on systems of both access and division as is found in the case of busy roads and pedestrian crossings in central Johannesburg. As a term, pedestrian poetry is indicative of the manner in which pedestrians walk the city as a text, with ‘walking’ pointing to the narrative unfolding the text. In this sense, the specifi c locations chosen for the project are crucial; as one of the busi-est inner-city throughfares. Twist Street represents a dynamic combination of dif-ferent modes of movement, an exchange of different nationalities and a general space of cultural negotiation.

Marx, Maja (Neé Pfeiffer)JohannesburgPedestrian poetry: In & OutDigital photographic print68,5cm x 92,5cm

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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 fi nalists of the Absa Atelier Exhibition in 2001.

Description of artwork:Three wooden fi gures are carved out and placed on a wooden base depicting these fi gures as thinkers who are respected by their communities. Wherever they go they are treated as celebrities.

Maswanganyi, CollenJohannesburgThinking tanks

Wood and paint40cm x 22cm x 30cm

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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 Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth. He has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibitions in 2006 and 2007, where he received a Merit Award.

Description of artwork:A wetter nurse seeks to criticize the very thought processes that direct us toward, and no further than, these narrow conceptions. The work seeks to extend the critical faculties through a deliberate confrontation of the accepted and familiar with itself and by offering a certain amount of elucidation and then retracting and/or contradicting that rationalisation with another, equally valid, proposition. This condenses meaning in seemingly simple objects and relations, so as to implicate vast cultural and symbolic understanding, a process whereby the revealed obscures meaning, and the concealed presents opportunity for revelation. The soap is at once a reductive material, cleansing, purifying, and an effective remover of ‘excessive’ fat, and conversely, it fi lls the desk, congesting it with a material fatty in itself, one which until recently consisted primarily of animal fats, a material regarded with some repulsion.

Matthews, WaynePort ElizabethA wetter nurse! Whilst the sin still shinesMixed media75,5cm x 42cm x 49cm

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Profile:McEvoy was born in 1980. He obtained the BTech(FA) degree from the Tshwane University of Technology cum laude. He also obtained his MTech(FA) degree from the Tshwane University of Technology. He is currently a teacher at the Pretoria Boys’ High School. He has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2006.

Description of artwork:Intent exists in a realm of opposites: male versus female, hard versus soft, integra-tion, border and line versus lack thereof, bright versus pale, sharp versus blunt, pattern and decoration versus dissolution and disorder. The intent of the artist is to make comment on postcolonial issues surrounding especially land and the infrastructure of land, but perhaps too, on many more subtle aspects of the postco-

lonial condition. The tools can be seen to represent the actual ‘tools’ used as part of the demarcation process of colonial-ism, the dividing of land into bordered areas. These tools have been added to or softened in an act of defacement, but also to beautify and decorate, especially with pattern, to take their power as ‘tools’ away and give a less harmful appearance.

McEvoy, KaiPretoria

Intent (Or how to execute an invasion)Mixed media

(Eight-part)44cm x 34cm each

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Profile:McLachlan was born in 1974 and ob-tained 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, 2006 and 2007. He also received an Absa L ’Atelier Merit Award in 2002.

Description of artwork:This work consists of two DVD players, which play side by side synchronised in rotation. Metaphorically, the work plays with ideas reminiscent of our current load shedding crisis – in fact refl ects many South Africans’ vacillation between hope and despair … is it on or is it off?

McLachlan, Alastair JamesJohannesburgThe on and off side of lifeDVD5min

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Description of artwork:Target practice implies, in our current broader, more violent South African con-text, that all does not bode well. We never stop learning how to behave, mainly because society – and our relationship to others – is always changing and we continually face learning how to behave in new and different situations.

McLachlan, Alastair JamesJohannesburgTarget practice

Photographic print98cm x 122cm

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Profile:McNeill was born in 1974 and studied BA(FA) at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.

Description of artwork:In our quest for learning we often dis-cover that we possess the key ourselves to unlock the mysteries of life. We stand steadfast in our mission in search of truth. All we need to do is to remain open-minded.

McNeill, Dawid André Donald (Dawie)BloemfonteinOns staan soos ’n rotsCement11cm x 41cm x 57cm

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Profile:Mdluli was born in 1983 and studied for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Technikon of the Witwatersrand. She also studied for the BTech(FA) degree at the University of Johannesburg. She has participated in several exhibitions, includ-ing the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibitions in 2005, 2006 and 2007. She also received several awards.

Mdluli, Same SizakeleJohannesburg

Bushman womanMixed media

(Five-part) a) 33,5cm x 25,5cm b) 34,5cm x 26cm c) 34,5cm x 26cm d) 34,5cm x 26cm c) 34,5cm x 26cm

Description of artwork:The Bushman woman was a retirement gift given to the artist’s grandmother. It was then handed over to Mdluli’s mother after her grandmother passed on. Mdluli made a cast of it and made reproductions with different labels and colours. As a whole the work refers to the dangers and contradictions of labelling especially women. It humorously exposes society’s prejudices and misconceptions about those we all perceive as being different or the ‘other’.

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Profile:Meyerov was born in 1977. She studied BA(FA) as well as MA(FA) at the University of the Witwatersrand. She is currently a part-time lecturer at the University of Johannesburg. She has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier in 2005.

Description of artwork:Meyerov’s work explores the notion and transformation, through a cumulative labour intensive process, whereby the material itself physically undergoes a metamorphosis from a utilitarian object into an ambiguous substance suggestive of an organic, live structure.Colony comprises of thousands of used teabags, collected over a period of a year from various sources. These have been emptied, stained and restructured into ambiguous, hybrid like forms suggestive of tiny living organisms, which seem to hover indeterminately in a transitional, borderline state – either in process of birth and renewal or alternatively on the verge of death and subsequent decay.

Meyerov, Lee-AtJohannesburgColonyTeabags and Perspex97,5cm x 75cm

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Moys, Anthea Julian DineoJohannesburg

Gautrain series: Burial, Digging and Standing with gradersDigital inkjet prints

(Triptych) a) 65cm x 83,5cm b) 65cm x 83,5cm c) 65cm x 83,5cm

Profile:Moys was born in 1980 and studied BA(FA) at the University of the Witwatersrand. She also studied MA(FA) at the University of the Witwatersrand.

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Description of artworks:Gautrain: Ophelia and Gautrain series: Burial, Digging and Standing with graders obliquely refer to John Everett Millais’ Ophelia (1851 -2). Moys sees the Gautrain construction sites as sites of potential and of the future. They are always becoming, neither here nor there but in a state of transition. The somewhat futile act of digging whilst there are huge powerful graders surrounding her, demonstrates a feeling of helplessness or uselessness, which she thinks many South Africans are feeling currently. There is also an element of fear and risk in these sites.

Moys, Anthea Julian DineoJohannesburgGautrain: OpheliaVideo1min 32sec

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Profile:Murdoch-Trapani was born in 1972 and studied for the National Higher Diploma in Fine Arts at the Technikon of the Witwatersrand. She is currently reading for an MA(FA) at the University of the Witwatersrand. She has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibitions in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Murdoch-Trapani, AntoinetteJohannesburgBody BotanicsMixed media

(Eight-part)60,5cm x 45cm each

Description of artwork:The polyurethane foam puzzle pieces are arranged into pop-like botanical images. The puzzle pieces depict human body parts.

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Norman, Natasha FelicityBellvilleDope show: TV stills Freedom Day, 2007Mixed media(Twelve-part)44cm x 59cm each

Profile:Norman was born in 1982 and studied BA(FA) at the University of Cape Town. She has participated in several exhibi-tions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2006.

Description of artwork:In Dope show, Norman captures the mo-ments immediately preceding or follow-ing violence, refusing its direct represen-tation in favour of its anticipation and aftershocks. A series of television stills from shows broadcast on Freedom Day, Norman alludes to a heritage – as well as a present – wrought by violence, violence often covered over in media spectacle and the contemporary celebration of nationhood (an idea echoed in Washkansky’s nationalistic symbolism).

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Description of artwork:Norman’s most overt piece, Teach your children, is a sound installation of toy guns affi xed to a Perspex target, in which the viewer, triggering the sensor system, becomes the unwitting victim of violence – fi gured as child’s play through the sounds of children’s imitative shooting (‘Bang’; ‘Boom’), which culminates in the sound of an actual gunshot and the ejection of an empty shell, followed by an eerie silence.

Norman, Natasha FelicityBellville

Teach your childrenMixed media

188cm x 75,5cm x 95cm

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Profile:Norval was born in 1980 and studied for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Durban Institute of Technology. She also obtained a BTech(FA) degree from the Durban Institute of Technology. She has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibitions in 2005 and 2006, where she received a Merit Award.

Description of artwork:The series tells the story of Norval’s mother. The piece traces emotions of her relation-ship with her mother as well as different phases of her mother’s life. It also bears witness of a mother’s love for a child and vice versa.

Norval, AnetDurbanWhen mother comes to visitMixed media a) 15cm x 15cmb) 15cm x 15cmc) 15cm x 15cmd) 14,5cm x 20,5cme) 15cm x 15cmf) 15cm x 15cmg) 15cm x 15cmh) 15cm x 15cmi) 15cm x 15cmj) 15cm x 15cm

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Pokroy, Anthea Tracy

Profile:Pokroy was born in 1986 and studied BA(FA) at the University of the Witwatersrand.She has participated in several exhibi-tions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2007.

Description of artwork:In this series of three photographs, the artist explores the ways in which a violent act can affect the memory of a space. Using the method of double exposure, it becomes apparent how these fl eeting moments of violence leave ghost imprints onto otherwise empty spaces.

JohannesburgUntitled

Photography(Triptych)

a) 59cm x 59cm b) 59cm x 59cm c) 59cm x 59cm

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Pokroy, Anthea TracyJohannesburgBeastly tales photo seriesPhotography(Triptych)a) 43cm x 59,5cmb) 41,5cm x 59cmc) 42,5cm x 60cm

Description of artwork:This work arose from the inspiration of postmodern writer Angela Carter’s ‘The Bloody Chamber’. This collection of short stories is involved with the reworking and subverting popular, universal fairytales. Carter’s attempt at rediscovering the latent meaning and intention of these original tales, written by Charles Perrault and, subsequently, the Brothers Grimm, was infl uential in the production of Pokroy’s work. This series of three photographs depict the stories of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Red Riding Hood. The captions included are intended as direct dialogue between the stories told over centuries, particularly between Perrault, Brothers Grimm, Carter and the artist.

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Profile:Pretorius was born in 1983 and studied BA(FA) at the University of the Witwa-tersrand. She is currently reading for an MA(FA) at the University of the Witwa-tersrand. She has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2006.

Description of artwork:Pretorius’ work is concerned with the abuse and exploitation of animals.

Pretorius, ElmarieJohannesburg

Bird body landscapeMixed media

111cm x 190cm

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Prins, Elizabeth (Liezel)DurbanServiceMixed media66,5cm x 60cm

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, 2006 and 2007.

Description of artwork:To serve has become absent within human interaction. The artist attempts to comment on subtle idiosyncrasies within contemporary universal society.

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Prins, Elizabeth (Liezel)Durban

Townhouse villagersMixed media

81cm x 41cm x 23cm

Description of artwork:The artist comments on subtle idiosyn-crasies within contemporary universal society such as perfect lawns, perfect gutter hue and perfect reception. A veritable glut of processed manufactured and synthesised everything – served in McDonald’s style.

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Profile:Quwe was born in 1981 and studied for the BTech(FA) degree at the University of Johannesburg.

Description of artwork:These panels depict animal and children’s activities within text interwoven between these images.

Quwe, NkosinathiJohannesburgSection of a wall I, II, IIIInk on paper(Triptych)a) 200cm x 53cm x 32cmb) 200cm x 53cm x 32cmc) 200cm x 53cm x 32cm

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Profile:Rosin was born in 1975 and studied for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Technikon, Port Elizabeth. He also obtained his BTech(FA) degree cum laude. He has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2007.

Description of artwork:This work is a simplifi ed representation of an existing system on a smaller scale in order to assist future calculations and predictions. The man in the middle is a re-fl ection of the current state of the land of the artist’s birthplace, namely Zimbabwe. It speaks of dictatorship, where the man in the middle undoubtedly benefi ts from his position but by necessity he fi nds himself forever surrounded by fear and violence.

Rosin, Stephen JohnBellville

War toy 2, 3 and the man in the middleMixed media

(Triptych) a) 63cm x 32cm x 27cm b) 40,5cm x 43cm x 34cm c) 38cm x 74cm x 2cm

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Profile:Saayman was born in 1984 and studied BA(FA) at the University of Stellenbosch.

Description of artwork:This work concerns the demise of Afrikaner male identity. After an advertisement which was placed in “Die Burger” on 16 February 2008, in which he questioned Afrikaner male identity, he received many calls. These calls were recorded and the artist’s function became that of voyeur where in privacy and anonymity, the viewer can listen in to these telephonic conversations.

Saayman, Wynand PhilippusBellvillePlaaslynstoriesMixed media69cm x 92cm x 42cm

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Profile:Sales was born in 1973 and studied BA(FA) (Printmaking) at the University of Cape Town, which she obtained with distinction. She also 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 in the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibitions in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007. She was also selected as one of the top ten fi nalists in the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2003 and 2006. She also received a Merit Award in the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2007.

Description of artwork:Consisting of 159 intricately cut SAA boarding passes, Shatter is an abstract pattern, which is derived from an image of cracks racing across a sheet of tempered glass. It shows the instant at the moment in which it is struck by a blunt metal plunger. This piece makes reference to the Helderberg plane crash of 1987 in which 159 people died, amongst which was her father. This was a controversial and unresolved incident brought up at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission where the blame was laid on the actions of the previous apartheid government. Shatter is also a contemplation on the parallels within macrocosms. Resembling an eye as well as a mandala, it represents the cosmos, the big bang, a vortex or a tunnel of light associated with a near death experience.

Sales, Lynda Dorothy (Lyndi)BellvilleShatter

Mixed media200cm x 200cm

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Profile:Schnugh was born in 1981.

Description of artwork:In this work Schnugh tried to capture a moment in time in its purity, hence the simplicity of the work. By cropping the images in the way he has, it only gives the viewer a small clue as to what is happening in the work, hence creating a slight tension of intrigue and curiosity. It is this balance of simplicity and seemingly endless possibilities that he tries to achieve in his work.

Schnugh, Lorne LouwJohannesburgUntitledAirbrush painting(Diptych)a) 83,5cm x 49,5cmb) 83,5cm x 49,5cm

87

Profile:Smit was born in 1976 and studied for the National Diploma in Photography at the Technikon Free State, Bloemfontein.

Description of artwork:Both these works are portraits of friends of the artist. Each one of these portraits depicts the emotion of sadness, which the artist tried to capture.

Smit, Frans JohannesBellville

Head of a young man and a girl in a charcoal sweaterOil on canvas

(Diptych) a) 50,5cm x 41cm b) 50,5cm x 41cm

88

Profile:Spies was born in 1976 and studied for the National Diploma in Graphic Design at the Technikon Vaal Triangle.

Description of artwork:This work portrays the expectations we have regarding relationships and mar-riage. Relationships seem idyllic with a sugar coating while the reality is not always so sweet and idyllic. The round plastic balls represent the soap-bubble, which can easily burst. The work is fragile and represents the delicacy and sensitiv-ity of relationships. The cushions, which are covered with icing, represent the cushions you kneel on during the mar-riage ceremony and enhances the idea of the sugar-coated concept.

Spies, Gerda (Neé Coetzee)PretoriaBitter-sweet transienceMixed media200cm x 200cm x 200cm

89

Profile:Steyn was born in 1978 and studied BA(Hons) at the University of Cape Town, which she obtained cum laude.

Description of artwork:The image deconstructs the well-known photograph of Eugene Terre’ Blanche taken during the 1980s where he was depicted on his horse ready to save the Afrikaner nation from the black threat. Here Terre’ Blanche is depicted as vulnerable against the power of his stallion, Atilla.

Steyn, Antonia DignaBellville

Untitled (Eugene Terre’ Blanche)Mixed media

79cm x 119cm

90

Steyn, Daniël Petrus DreyerPretoriaFace itVideo5min

Profile:Steyn was born in 1984 and studied BA(FA) at the University of Pretoria.

Description of artwork:The slow morphing of the image in the video Face it, depicts the long and tedi-ous process of the re-centring of the self. The image is being distorted at such a slow pace that it appears to be static with only slightly variating nuances. At any point during the video the image seems to be stagnant and that the distortion is complete. The same could be said about identities. At any point we feel that our identity is complete; we are in the moment who we are. Yet the distortion is continual. At no point is the image complete although it may appear so. Our identities are ever-changing. We are never the same person we were a moment ago. The image appears to be unmoving, yet after time elapsed, it is unrecognisable. The to and fro morphing of the self relays the instability of the ever-changing identity of the self. Do you still recognise yourself?

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Profile:Steyn was born in 1980 and studied for a Diploma in Fashion Design at the Haute Couture School in Cape Town. She is currently studying for the BTech degree in Fashion/Surface Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

Description of artwork:This work depicts a mathematical construction of a three-dimensional sculpture namely a mask and a body of breasts using symmetry, flat forms and shapes glued together to become a three-dimensional sculpture.

Steyn, Maria Petronella (Petro)Bellville

Sog soog suig my leegMixed media

117cm x 50cm x 23cm

92

Profile:Strydom was born in 1979 and studied BA(FA) at the University of Pretoria. He also studied MA(FA) at the University of Stellenbosch. He has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2002.

Description of artwork:Strydom’s interest lies in the complexity theory and ideas of inside vs. outside. Decay, decomposition, growth, rhythm and life turning on itself, formed the starting points for the marks he used. The work is also very much about mark-making, the process of drawing itself as well as the place of labour in making an art object.

Strydom, ColijnBellvilleBreathing in autumnInk on paper107cm x 140cm

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Profile:Thavhana was born in 1978 and is a sculptor taking after his father Paul. He has a passion for his art and also enjoys carpentry. He has been carving since 1994. He also participated in the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2001.

Description of artwork:This small carved sculpture depicts the HIV/Aids issue. This virus manages to spread although it has no wings to fl y, fi ns to swim or feet to walk.

Thavhana, EseraelPolokwaneHIV & Aids

Wood40cm x 13cm x 10,5cm

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Tshivhandakano, NdwamatoThohoyandouThe son and the darknessPhotograph43cm x 54,5cm

Profile:Tshivhandakano was born in 1982 and studied art at Matongoni.

Description of artwork:This work depicts a child who grew up without knowing his background. The light symbolises the revelation of the truth.

95

Profile:Van Biljon was born in 1984 and studied BA(FA) at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.

Description of artwork:This work portrays child abuse in which children are portrayed as care bears. The surroundings, in which care bears find themselves, are very often the places where children are. The explicit naked figures indicate those who abuse children.

Van Biljon, ElsieBloemfontein

BlommetjieComputer print on vinyl

105cm x 139cm

96

Profile:Van der Merwe was born in 1986 and is currently studying for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria.

Description of artwork:Van der Merwe’s work deals with the idea that if you dream big and you work towards your goal, it is possible to make your dreams come true. Her grandfather’s infl uence helped her to realise this. Her grandfather, who was a farmer, had a dream to breed horses and made it a reality through perseverance and hard work. The horse images she used in her paintings are direct links to this dream and message of hope and persistence.

Van der Merwe, AronéPretoriaGrandpa’s career as trainerMixed media(Thirteen-part)17,5cm x 8,5cm each

97

DurbanZulu

Mixed media89,5cm x 72cm

Profile:Van Eeden was born in 1979 and studied for the National Diploma in Graphic Design at the Durban University of Technology.

Van Eeden, Wesley

Description of artworks:The concept behind the artwork is to promote a positive attitude amidst the many apparent negative things happening in South Africa. With the experiences Van Eeden encountered with crime as well as with friends, family and work associates and many good things he has experienced living here, especially with his teaching of Graphic Design in KwaMashu in KwaZulu-Natal, he felt that he needed to convey a message of hope. As an artist he has a desire to use his talents to work on ‘projects’ that evoke a positive message.

98

DurbanWhiteMixed media89,5cm x 72cm

Van Eeden, Wesley

99

Van Eeden, WesleyDurban

IndianMixed media

89,5cm x 72cm

100

Profile:Van Staden was born in 1986 and studied for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the Tshwane University of Technology. He is currently studying for the BTech(FA) degree at the Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria.

Van Staden, Pieter SchalkPretoriaInspectionOil on board40cm x 60cm

Description of artwork:The marble tiles in the background depict the notion of healing and pain by bridg-ing a fi ne line of restraint between the patient and the doctors. Here a critique of authority is noted in relation to that of institutions. Thus the confusion of heal-ing and pain is noted.

101

Profile:Van Tonder was born in 1985 and studied BA(FA) at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.

Description of artwork:The work refers to Andy Warhol’s way of silkscreening the icon, Marilyn Monroe. According to the artist Monroe represents the origin of ‘lost identity’. By representing the object and icon Hello

Kitty in the same way, Kitty actually becomes more alive and develops an identity. In this day and age the division between human and object has disappeared. It is as if we glorify ‘lost identity’.

Van Tonder, NadiaBloemfontein

Marilyn’s museSilkscreen and oil on canvas

145cm x 198,5cm

102

Profile:Vivier was born in 1976 and studied for a BSc Computer Science degree at Unisa. He also studied for the BTech(FA) degree at the Tshwane University of Technolgy, Pretoria.

Description of artwork:With an intention of throwing some interesting shapes on the wheel, Vivier returned to nine digitally manipulated

photographs taken of the 1963 fi lm entitled ‘The pink panther’. It was taken off a television screen. Out of each, the artist selected a small part. Since the act of throwing results in shapes that are symmetrical, Vivier mirrored these selected parts in order to make them ‘throwable’. He found the result to be surprising and very exciting, when he imagined these two-dimensional shapes in three-dimensional form.

Vivier, Peter-WaynePretoriaOut of the Pink Panther # 4, 9, 5Mixed media(Triptych)a) 26cm x 19,5cm x 19,5cmb) 24cm x 19,5cm x 19,5cmc) 13cm x 30cm x 21,5cm

103

Profile:Warman was born in 1985 and studied for the National Diploma in Fine Arts at the University of Johannesburg.

Description of artwork:This piece is a representation of a cocoon, a metaphor for the development of identity.

Warman, Nicole ClaireJohannesburg

Metamorphosis part IIMixed media

113cm x 93cm x 94cm

104

Profile:Webb was born in 1975 and studied BA Drama and Religion at the University of Cape Town. He also obtained a Diploma in Advertising. He has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa Atelier Exhibitions in 2000 and 2001 and in the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibitions in 2002, 2004 and 2006. He also received an Absa L ’Atelier Merit Award in 2002 and 2006.

Description of artwork:This work consists of voice recordings of the artist under hypnosis, broadcast from speakers fi tted into a black leather chaise longue.

Webb, James HamiltonBellvilleAuto hagiographyMixed media69,5cm x 182cm x 64cm

105

Profile:Wessels was born in 1982 and is currently studying BA(VA) at Unisa.

Description of artwork:This work is mostly a monochrome painting depicting the profi le of a woman’s face and behind it a fi gure resembling the form of a bull.

Wessels, EliseBellville

Amisade’s dream of king NebuchadnezzarMixed media

41,5cm x 65cm

106

Profile:Western was born in 1981 and studied BA(FA) as well as MA(FA) at the University of the Witwatersrand. She has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2007.

Description of artwork:Waiting is a narrative of urban alienation as told from the perspective of a particular high-rise inhabitant.

Western, Natalie Anne (Rat)JohannesburgWaitingVideo5min

107

Whitehead, Johanna Jacoba (Hanje)Johannesburg

BirdMixed media

170cm x 200cm x 200cm

Profile:Whitehead was born in 1985 and studied BA(FA) at the University of Pretoria. She has participated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibition in 2007.

Description of artwork:The sculpture Bird is a compilation of found objects, thus Duchampian Ready-mades. These found objects are present in its own identity and now taken from its essence in this context, to be born again as an individual object with its own identity and new context.These objects become something from without itself, something that is far from its origin and context given identity. These found objects gain life from their new purpose in being constructed and a compiled object, now in its new context as an artwork and for that its function and identity are reformed.

108

Wildenboer, BarbaraBellvilleSet adriftMixed media200cm x 200cm x 200cm

Profile:Wildenboer was born in 1973 and stud-ied BA(Ed) at the University of Pretoria. She also studied BA(VA) at Unisa and MA(FA) at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, which she obtained with distinction. She has par-ticipated in several exhibitions, including the Absa L ’Atelier Exhibitions in 2003 and 2005.

Description of artwork:The title of the work Set adrift is meant to be contradictory, referring both to an attempt to set or fi x things as well as to the inevitability of the disappearance of the very things that one attempts to secure. In this work the photographic process is applied in an attempt to capture that which is fl eeting and forever changing. The work consists of seven circular photographic images of clouds,

each with a star constellation pinned onto the surface of the image as well as a mass of beach stones onto which images of dead fi sh collected from the beach were printed. The constellations used are those named after birds, such as Aquila: the eagle, Corvus: the crow, Cygnus: the swan and Grus: the crane. Wildenboer used images of clouds as she found them to be an effective means of expressing the sublime nature of inner experiences.

109

Profile:Ziqubu was born in 1974 and obtained a Public Relations Diploma.

Description of artwork:This chair depicts the origins of all humankind. Whether black or white, we all face trying situations because of our fi rst parents, Adam and Eve, who disobeyed the Almighty Creator when accepting a fruit offered by Satan.

Ziqubu, Sicelo Victor SandileDurban

The lost paradise of Adam and EveMixed media

182cm x 140cm x 200cm

110

Previous Absa L ’Atelier Winners

1986WinnerPenny SiopisMerit Award WinnersDeborah BellAndrew BreebaartDennis PurvisSimon Stone

1987WinnerClive van den BergMerit Award WinnersAndries BothaPhilippa HobbsTommy MotswaiKarel Nel

1988WinnerDiane VictorMerit Award WinnersKay CowleyGuy du ToitJohann LouwMargaret Vorster

1989WinnerHennie StroebelMerit Award WinnersCaroline JonesWalter OltmannGiulio TambelliniJeremy Wafer

1990WinnerBarend de WetMerit Award WinnersAndrew BreebaartJean BruwerGuy du ToitJudy Woodborne

1991WinnerVirginia MacKennyMerit Award WinnersNicole DonaldRuth MilehamJohann van der SchijffPierre van der Westhuizen

1992WinnerPaul EdmundsMerit Award WinnersWayne BarkerMarc EdwardsDominic ThorburnMinette Vári

1993WinnerDominic ThorburnMerit Award WinnersSiemon AllenDiek GroblerAdam LetchRussel Scott

1994WinnerJonathan ComerfordMerit Award WinnersAndrew PutterKevin RobertsHenk SerfonteinAlastair Whitton

1995WinnerKevin RobertsMerit Award WinnersMoses CetywayoGordon FroudDiek GroblerPeet Pienaar

1996WinnerIsaac KhanyileMerit Award WinnersHanneke BenadéWim BothaSamkelo BunuBerco Wilsenach

1997WinnerIlse PahlMerit Award WinnersLucas BamboCecile HeystekKim LiebermanRichardt Strydom

(Known as Volkskas Bank Atelier Competition up to 1998 and from 1999 to 2001 known as Absa Atelier Competition)

111

1998WinnerKarl GietlMerit Award WinnersWayne BarkerHanneke BenadéJean BrundritPeter Rippon

1999WinnerRyan ArensonMerit Award WinnersBrad HammondFritha LangermanAlbert RedelinghuysVanessa van Wyk

2000WinnerBrad HammondMerit Award WinnersJoni BrennerNatasha ChristopherColbert MashileNigel Mullins

2001WinnerStefanus RademeyerMerit Award WinnersMarco CianfanelliDaniel HirschmannBrent MeistreMerryn Singer

2002WinnerMarco CianfanelliMerit Award WinnersNatasha ChristopherAlastair McLachlanBenninghoff PurenJames Webb

2003WinnerSanell AggenbachMerit Award WinnersRetha BornmannNatasha ChristopherPatricia DriscollBerco Wilsenach

2004WinnerConrad BotesMerit Award WinnersStephen HobbsPieter HugoLize MullerRobert RichGerard Sekoto WinnerBelinda Zangewa

2005WinnerBerco WilsenachMerit Award WinnersKatherine BullLawrence LemaoanaPatrice MabasaMikhael SubotzkyGerard Sekoto WinnerLawrence Lemaoana

2006WinnerRuth SacksMerit Award WinnersNathani LüneburgRiason NaidooAnet NorvalJames WebbGerard Sekoto WinnerNomusa Makhubu

2007WinnerPierre FouchéMerit Award WinnersNina BarnettWayne MatthewsLyndi SalesJaco SpiesGerard Sekoto WinnerNina Barnett