Where I work

Artist Proof Studio

Although I have a studio at home, I spend every Friday at the Artists Proof Studio in Johannesburg. I consider it a home, and as a visiting artist, I have sold work through the Artists Proof Studio, as well as at the Turbine and Joburg Art Fares.

The Artist Proof Studio was founded in 1991 by Kim Berman and Nhlanhla Xaba “as a community printmaking centre that reflected the spirit of a healthy democracy and the ideals expressed in the new South African constitution. As printmaking was seen as a democratic medium and a counterforce to the suspicion and division left from the apartheid years, it was considered to be fitting approach to building a true egalitarian society. The country was on the brink of real change and in many ways it was artists that led the rethinking of how the future could look for all South Africans. Embodying this movement, APS became one of the pioneering community art centres in what would eventually become the cultural hub for the city of Johannesburg: Newtown”. Recently, the APS has moved to a new space in Lower Houghton.

I am one of many artists who come to the APS on a Friday to print. I consider it an honour to work alongside many of the most exciting young print artists who are on their creative journeys from this space. From the APS, many emerging artists have made their way onto the world art stage.

Teaching: This year (2021) I have been privileged to be asked to teach monotype print making from the studio to both adults and teenagers.

Fridays: On Fridays there is always a studio assistant to hand. For years this was Lesego Cube (below) who is an extremely talented printer in his own right. He has assisted me with my printing at APS. Huge thanks to Lesego for his meticulous mentoring, he has taught me many technical aspects of printing.

More recently Ben Mpande has been assisting me and I am excited to say that we have embarked on a collaborative project together. Ben’s work centres around the theme of Immigrants and their journeys in South Africa. I’ve written about our collaboration in one of my blogs.

“Vulnerable” 2019 1/1 Monotype and drypoint.