Art Exhibition: Emma Willemse - Disrupt Ii
Disrupt II showcases Emma Willemse's artworks from the Spier Collection, exhibited at the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in 2018, which have been brought back to South Africa by Spier Arts Trust to be shown on home soil.
Disrupt II includes a range of new works (available for sale from the artist), dealing with the theme of disruption, evoking the zeitgeist of our times.
The focus of the exhibition is her installation of one hundred and one handmade artist books, entitled 101 ways to long for a home. Seeking to subvert the traditional notion of linear word-based storytelling, the installation employs a fragmented visual language and relies on the multi-layered meanings generated by found material. The discarded parquet floor blocks featured in the intricate construction of the books and objects are sourced from Woodstock in Cape Town, where a gentrification process causes the demolishment of old homes and buildings.
ABOUT EMMA WILLEMSE
Emma Willemse is a conceptual artist and art educator living and working in Riebeek Kasteel, in the Swartland (Western Cape, South Africa).
Her art-making practice deals with issues of displacement, place-making and sense of place. She holds a Master’s degree in Visual Arts from the University of South Africa and qualifications in psychology and librarianship. Her artworks are technically varied and include sculptural installations, printmaking, artist’s books, painting, and drawing.
Emma has exhibited extensively in South Africa, Africa, and abroad. Her works have been included in the Art Bank Joburg, Nando’s Collection, the South African Embassy in Beijing and the Spier Collection.
Her award-winning artist’s books installation, consisting of 101 handmade books, have been exhibited in various configurations in South Africa, Italy, France, the UK, and at the Dak'Art Biennale in Senegal.