Art Blog

2018 Sasol New Signatures winner explores histories of space and land

The 2018 winner of the Sasol New Signatures Art Competition is Stellenbosch-based artist, Jessica Storm Kapp, whose work Mapping Time investigates experiences of home and space touching on current issues and thoughts on land reform.

Pfunzo Sidogi, lecturer at the Tshwane University of Technology Department of Fine and Applied Arts stated that Kapp's layering of the rock and soil is "indicative of the layering of histories on a space/land".

Kapp's work features four columns of rammed earth with an found embedded object. She describes herself as a collector of things and attempts to retrieve the histories of these objects and evoke multisensory experiences of home and illustrates concepts such as loss, trace, place attachment and reflection.

"I think that that the physicality of sculpture requires the use of the body which allows for a very engaging experience," states Kapp. "It has the ability to be completely immersive and descriptive using just its form."

As the winner of Sasol New Signatures, Kapp walks away with a cash prize of R100 000 and the opportunity to have a solo exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum in 2019, which will mark Sasol's 30th year sponsoring South Africa's longest running art competition.

Runner-up is Cape Town artist Peter Mikael Campbell and his intricate pencil work, Kaisen. The detailed and delicate tonal play was lauded as "beautiful, intense and meditative" by artist and judge Lawrence Lemaoana.

Campbell states that he enjoys the manifestation of thoughts into something tangible. "I find that thinking in objects is a fascinating way of exploring thought," says Campbell.

The title translated means "change for better" in Japanese and Campbell aims to evoke a quiet meditation in his work. There is a fine balance between simplicity and complexity in the work that give it an essence of aesthetic beauty.

The 5 Merit Award winners are Kelly Crouse, Debbie Fann, Pierre Henri Le Riche, Mulatedzi Simon Moshapo, and Megan Serfontein who each received a R10 000 cash prize.

The Sasol New Signatures exhibition runs from 30 August - 7 October 2018 at the Pretoria Art Museum.