Artist Statement
I am a visual artist, researcher and art teacher working in Glasgow. I am fascinated by the city’s rich and diverse local history, especially that of ceramic and the significant role that tiles once played in the everyday lives of the people of Glasgow. Mosaic art holds an inherent meaningful connection to this past and I enjoy transforming cut glazed tiles or broken materials into coherent wholeness. I’ve been focusing on the potential of this art practice in recent years.
The golden thread that runs through my varied work from different geographical contexts, is a yearning to ‘belong’. This longing is expressed through the exploration of and the response to multi-layered connections residing within specific, experienced places and the people from these contexts. I am particularly interested in the potential of art to articulate the social dimension of our multi-layered, complex ‘lived space’ within cities.
Artist Biography
I’ve lived and worked in Glasgow since 2016. Born and raised in South Africa, I left the country in my early twenties to explore my roots in Europe. There I met my Glaswegian husband and have since lived in the Netherlands, USA and Australia. In 1996 I’ve obtained a Master of Fine Art from the University of Pretoria in South Africa majoring in painting. Twenty years later I completed a Master of Research in Creative Practices at the Glasgow School of Art. My formal art training also includes studying at the University of the Free State in South Africa and the Royal Academy in The Hague, the Netherlands.
I am currently a part-time art teacher at Glasgow City Mission, take on portrait and painting commissions, provide art workshops, do art research and participate in art exhibitions. As a professional member of the British Association of Modern Mosaics (BAMM) I receive continual encouragement and support to develop my mosaic making skills. I have worked on public mosaic murals in the Netherlands before moving to Glasgow and have recently completed my first public mosaic mural in Scotland at SWG3. You might also find some small graffiti mosaics on the streets of Glasgow, but these are mostly hidden, a gift to the keen observer.
Galleries on Website
Over the years my drawing and painting practice have extended into teaching, installation art, mosaic art, liturgical art, community art and research. For this website I’ve selected a number of artworks and projects which signpost my journey of art making. These are named and listed under ‘Galleries’ on the site.