https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/28773 Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:39:29 GMT 2026-08-11T08:39:29Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32794 Confessionale Kruger, Marieke This exhibition consists of sixteen monumental portrait drawings of former prisoners. I explored the emotive qualities of drawing material as an autonomous means of communication and a carrier of the transformative capacity of the empathic sublime to create meaning. Thematically there is a correlation with my PhD project, but in this exhibition the focus is exclusively on portraits, which are not included in my PhD submission. In this exhibition, fragmented portrait drawings, such as the “Belshazzar” series, are inspired by myths and brought into a reflective context of life stories, where a reciprocal process between me and individuals is explored. Three exhibition spaces formed one conceptual narrative. The Italian title ‘Confessionale’ referred to the act of confession as well as a space of confession. ‘Confessionale’ referred to the sacred experience of personal and collective confession as it is performed in many religious cultures. I aimed to create a sanctified space of reflection by reinterpreting the traditional concept of confession. The confrontational power of the portraits challenged the audience towards seeing and recognising the self and the other in their mutual humanity. This points to our equality and the need for seeing and reflecting through the marginalised other. In so doing, I aimed to address the problem of social prejudice between races and social groups which stifles psychological and spiritual growth needed for healing in a post-apartheid society. The works encourage us to become comfortable in space which is inherently uncomfortable. Carl Jung (1968) referred to the psychological necessity for “shadow work” towards mental health. He underscores the necessity of dealing with the shadow towards wholeness. The drawings become a means towards this end – seeking to excavate unconscious material through memories to consciousness through the drawing process, making the invisible visible, transcending words. In so doing, the drawings position themselves in a space of mutual feeling, in an intimate space in which ‘I see you’ and ‘you see me’. This exhibition challenged accepted traditions of portraiture of depicting the marginalised other. I propagate that no portrait is ever purely objective, as the artist seeks to create from the inside out, aiming to depict ‘her truth’ as it relates to her lifeworld. The work beckons to commemorate the lives of the rejected, and through the act of drawing sought to validate our own inner experience of being rejected. The problem of presenting people that exist on the periphery of society, generally referred to as “others”, is often debated in art. In this exhibition I thus embraced this challenge and dilemma, as I have also worked in close relationship with these prisoners in a mentoring capacity. The work probes a friendship that I built with individuals over many years. I aimed to transform the simple portrait into a territory of known relationships. One of my objectives was to establish a platform of mutuality against the conformity of regarding incarcerated individuals as being ‘other’. The focus of drawing as an attempt to grasp the marks and tones of life beyond our everyday understanding of humanity constructs the map for reconciliation: I am his other, and he is my other. In the monumental "Procession: After the Citizens of Calais”, a scroll takes on a theatrical presence, and the drawing is a performative act depicting progression. This sense of flow was further explored in the exhibition spaces divided by curtains. I explored brush-painted charcoal drawings in their potential to become transformative ‘self-objects’, creating unique platforms for inter-material dialogue, communicating through a silent visual language, supporting Jung’s claim of the unification of the conscious and unconscious. British artist Antony Gormley claimed in his work done in prisons that no one can imprison the mind of the prisoner and that this faculty remains open to the imagination of everyone. My exhibition contributes to artmaking as imaginative faculty and the notion of ‘incarceration’ as a psychological and spiritual condition. This solo at SMAC Gallery coincided with the Cape Town Art Fair and included walkabouts with Baylon Sandri. Johan Myburg wrote an article about my art practice in “Die Burger", and the exhibition was well received by the public. Elizabeth Gunter presented the opening address, and several works now form part of the permanent collection in the Perez Museum, Miami. Thu, 16 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32794 2023-02-16T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32769 For those who live by light Krajewska, Ania The works “For Those Who Live by Light” are a part of a research project focused on leaves and their photosynthesis cycles. “Sequence 1 - Chlorophylls and Sequence 2 – Carotenoids” are a continuation and an outcome of the project “Plants Have Poems Inside Them” (2022) and are a visual response to Zoë Schlanger’s book on the life of plants, “The Light Eaters”. Becoming an attentive, keen, and tender observer of leaves and their life processes was the key drive behind this project. Leaves not only tell us their stories of the unstoppable transience states but also connect us to the living world. Their breath-outs are our breath-ins, forming a continuous harmony between the interiority of multitudes of chloroplasts tightly packed under the green protection of the epidermis and the pink, oxygen-dependent epithelial cells of our lungs. Chloroplasts attest to their bond to the vastness of outer space and the energy of our closest star. While paying attention to our biological environments is crucial for our own self-preservation, the main drive behind the work was the enchantment with the “in-betweenness” and ephemerality of all life forms. Looking at leaves from close-up and anew, photo-documenting different stages of their being and paying attention to the entities usually taken for granted, can bring about an enriching experience and provoke reflections on our own brevity. Light, its multidimensional reflections and refractions, the inner actions of bursts of energy, and the temporal states and processes occurring continuously in plants were approached as joyous and wondrous events. That the present atmosphere is rich in oxygen is the result of 2.7 billion years of photosynthetic processes initiated by the first unicellular organisms, such as cyanobacteria, which consistently released oxygen into Earth’s atmosphere as a by-product of converting carbon dioxide and sunlight into energy (Lane 2003). Artists like Joe Davis unfold the drama of these life-giving photosynthetic processes and pay tribute to “lower” life forms in “RuBisCo Stars” (2009), by sending chemical formulae of chloroplast enzymes191 essential for photosynthesis as radio signals into the cosmos to be the ambassadors of life on our planet, attesting to the non-human part of ecology. My conceptual and creative strategies were based on research into the signification of colour in photosynthesis as well as exploration of light refractions. Photo documentation of leaves and their different stages of chlorophylls, carotenoids, and anthocyanins transmutations served as insights into these biological pigments. Each pigment plays a distinct role in light-harvesting and signals how plants absorb light, survive environmental stress, and display vivid colours. Experiments with the refraction of light led to the choice of thick Perspex slabs used as prisms to disperse images of leaves into cell-like visual formations. The intention was to present a multifaceted and complex narrative about inner events in the lives of leaves. The questions I raise are environmentally ethical in the sense that Antonio Damasio (2003:171), the behavioural biologist and neuroscientist, adumbrated: “The biological reality of self-preservation leads to virtue because in our inalienable need to maintain ourselves, we must, of necessity, help preserve other selves. If we fail to do so, we perish and are thus violating the foundational principle and relinquishing the virtue that lies in self-preservation. The secondary foundation of virtue is the reality of a social structure and the presence of other living organisms in a complex system of interdependence with our own organism.” In other words, engaging with preservation and paying careful attention to our biological environments is crucial for our own self-preservation. However, while ethical and mindful living is pivotal to “For Those Who Live by Light”, the works were also driven by the magic of the “in-betweenness” and transience of light and all life forms. I aimed to contribute to and facilitate socio-cultural reflections on the biology of ecological environments, and to share views on the ephemerality and fragility of all life forms. Installation of works. The works were part of the “Proximity” Exhibition at the Unisa Art Gallery, 14-30 September 2024. The show was a prominent group exhibition featuring a diverse collection of research and creative projects by academic staff members from the University of South Africa. Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32769 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32602 Agency of Objects Miller, Gwenneth A three-month residency in Europe culminated in an itinerant solo titled “Agency of objects”. The research embraced the challenge to imbue objects with anecdotes and stories that I encountered in the brief visits to Ponte de Mucela, Porto, and Madrid and the extended stay in Paris. The experience sensitised me to the lives of individuals immersed in times of interruption whilst striving to sustain a livelihood. As I identified objects of interest, I questioned the way these objects suggest socio-cultural context and searched for ways to mediate an impelling presence of belonging. The research probed the extent to which objects can reveal something about relationships between people in transit and looked for modes of presentation that could suggest the agency of objects. The aim to immerse myself in situ, further searched for ways to respond empathically to place and engagements, therefore probing the ability of inanimate objects to enable socio-cultural capacity. Archaeologist Christopher Tilley (2001:260) wrote that meaning is generated “out of situated, contextualised social action which is in continuous dialectical relationship” within structures, through media and with an outcome of action. It is thus from the use and context of objects that their agency arises, and furthermore, writing suggests that recontextualised objects can have the ability to enact change. This also alludes to the dialectical nature of art methodologies applied. The series of twelve small drawings emerged through observation of discarded tools, damaged by the wildfires of 2017 in Portugal – tools used by local inhabitants to work the land and build their shelters. The “Tool” series is site-specific for more reasons: the ink was made from disintegrating walnut husks by my host and current resident artist Celia de Villers. She created the ink on the site where the walnut tree grows and where the recent fire scorched these tools. The selection was also conceptual and metaphoric, as the objects and their shadows speak of transience and people passing through a place with hope for a future. Lexicons of cyclical regeneration occur in the paintings I studied in Madrid: a gutted fish or a skull in Dutch still-lives, an empty paper plate of a passer-by, or the disappearing person in a faded tapestry. The wall of sketches and prints on “Agency of objects” evidenced thinking through objects as markers of time, acknowledging comfort and discomfort in the finitude of life. The “agentive turn in social theory” can be linked as a scholarly framework within this theme, as it contextualises agency of humans and objects as relative (Tilley 2001:109, in Ethnography and Material Culture). Furthermore, body of work contributes to discourse around material culture, mirroring critical reflection of contemporary value systems as discussed by Appadurai (1986) in The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Living on-site in Paris, where artists come and go, I also become aware and very moved by the refugees of the city. The elongated structure of the Citè building offers a roof over the refugees as they pitch their tents every evening, just to dismantle them every morning. My exhibition carefully considered placement as part of the composition; for example, a floor installation of paintings particularly pondered the 'throw-away' existence of the tent dwellers. The body of work contributes to reflection of the tension between belonging and not belonging of objects in relation to global currencies and shifting uncertainties. Grouping of two- and three-dimensional works further presented abstracted objects on stilted structures. The constructed objects express the action of chopping, hammering and cleaving to contemplate the context of labourers who eke out a living. Working with the material of breakfast cereal packaging suggested a continuation of the cycle that started with implements used to work the land. The 3-D sketches became animated in their suggested movement and were further developed through mixed media collages and an elongated 3.6-metre painting. The well-attended exhibition opening of “Agency of Objects” took place at the Cité internationale des arts, Paris (April), and a second rendition of the show was held at Gordart Stokvel Gallery in September 2025, with the addition of several etchings and ink drawings. Stokvel Gallery is in one of Melville Centre's 27 storage containers – a space conceptually extending the theme of transitory nature. For more information see the link to the artist's webpage above: https://www.gwennethmiller.com/agency-of-objects Wed, 02 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32602 2025-04-02T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32600 omgekeerd Miller, Gwenneth The exhibition “omgekeerd” flickered to life when returning home after an extended sojourn outside South Africa. The title of the exhibition “on the contrary” also related to the Momentum Aardklop25 festival theme of “What Lies Beneath". My research and encounters with homeless people in makeshift dwellings in Paris begged for a new perspective upon my return. Homecoming was an experience of disorientation – a feeling of being suspended. New work towards 'omgekeerd' challenged the emotional understanding of the sanctity of home. The problem of an anchored existence is globally highlighted by issues of social disruption, often by factors beyond an individual’s control. However, there is also a legacy of willingly surrendering comfort for the purpose of understanding unfamiliar worlds. The discomfort of travel raises personal questions and may offer new insights into one’s sense of belonging. In my own studio, I delved into memories of my navigation via maps in the Drakensberg. These artworks include places where my late husband and I had hiked. Linear elements echoed my collection of old “Slingsby” maps and my memory of walking the mountains. My multiple experiences of hiking and travelling challenge the perception of space and one’s ego in the larger scheme of things. The images of tents being blown away in “Makeshift” and “The Trail" became metaphors for our world of unease and discord. These works expressed my strong awareness of our malleable identities and how we constantly tinker to find our position in society. In “omgekeerd” this iterative process reflects on the impact of place and relations as constantly evolving. When hiking in unfamiliar terrain, one seems hyper-alert to find the way, often reliant on devices and co-travellers. Eventually, you flow into meditative silence. I used the tortoise shell in “Becoming Mountain” as a metaphor for slow time and sight. Both this drawing and “The Trail" extended beyond the images, as the paper was a collaboration with Phumani Papers. I embedded snippets of drawings, layering the paper into an organic ‘terrain’. Colour drawings were made on rice paper, gifted by another artist; thus, the action of creating material was contemplative and interwoven. The installation "Al lê die berge nog so blou" consisted of an ‘isodome’ tent, used over two decades whilst camping. This tent, in its apparent flimsy materiality, was a place of safety. The six panels, rendered in charcoal and beeswax, tracked walking routes and contour lines referencing trails. In the tent were often-used maps, a backpack and mattresses. The tent installation with chair became an interactive resting space for festival viewers, where many people shared their stories of the ‘berg’. Here the diverse recollection with a public beyond the art world formed a kinship and was an opportunity for newcomers to learn about how art conveys lived experiences. In preparation, I visited ‘Snowflake’ in Potchefstroom and recorded details of this historical venue dating back to 1921. Documentation of the scars and scratches on beams is an abstract record of history. The patina and marks on the pillars of the building resonated with topographical maps in the artworks in the installation. The exposed bricks and metal fixtures recall the old mill as a site of labour and human relationships. The mounting on 30cm threaded rods of the painterly drawing “You will always be in contact” created an ethereal rendition of my personal history and took cognisance of the unknowable stories of other lives that had passed through this space. The artworks underscore the philosophy of "revitalising effects” but not resemblance, as phrased by Martin Crowley (2013:372, in Deleuze on Painting 67:3, July:371-385). My aim was to contribute to the resonance and energy of specific spaces and facilitate socio-cultural reflection. The well-attended exhibition opening of “omgekeerd” at the Snowflake Venue in October 2025 was opened by Dr Combrink. Network24 published the review titled “Snowflake will turn your earthbeat upside down” and in Afrikaans “Dié visuele kuns by Snowflake sal jou Aardklop omkeer.” The exhibition “omgekeerd” took place alongside a group exhibition “Vice Versa”, which I curated with the concept of a dialogue between worlds. Both my curated and solo exhibitions were nominated as best exhibitions alongside those of Clinton Lubbe and Jaco van Schalkwyk, who eventually was the winner. Further information can be found at the artist's webpage https://www.gwennethmiller.com/omgekeerd-2025 Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32600 2025-10-07T00:00:00Z