the artist
Between soil and water, I found my ecological consciousness inevitably
growing within me over the years. I was shaped early by our gardener, Tinus,
and by my beloved mother, an accomplished artist.
Studying landscape architecture initially felt deeply discouraging, until the
influence of my professor Charles Laubscher led me toward horticulture.
Through propagation, creation unfolded literally in front of my eyes — growing,
changing, flourishing, samsara. My art is evocative of the creation of a new
living form or the interconnection of who we are.
Approximately four years later, I returned to landscape architecture to complete
my thesis. My mentor at the time, Julian Raxworthy, author of OVERGROWN,
interrupted my process with these words: “You are busy doing a doctorate —
stop.” Through my thesis, I drew on cybernetics, anthropology, behavioural
and environmental psychology, and psychoanalysis. I came to understand life
through interaction, interdependency, and connection — Gaia, Mother Nature
and humanity as one living organism.
Over the following five years, I worked as a lecturer and convenor of design
courses, walking alongside peers shaped by the lineage of Ian McHarg, Ernst
van Jaarsveld, and Roberto Burle Marx. My aim was to inspire more than two
hundred students. Eight years on, I have evolved into a contemporary collage
artist. Today, I present my first collage series, where my life story intertwines
with the emergence and colonisation of Botanical Beings.