exhibition text by Shona van der Merwe





Artissima, 2023
presented by Reservoir
alongside Inga Somdyala





Someday (It May Be Tomorrow) I & II, 2023
Packaging tape, digital print on paper



In the End (Long Walk to Freedom), 2023
Packaging tape, digital print on paper




Ends and Beginnings (Mountain Fire, Cape Town, 22.06.08), 2023
Cow fat and veldfire ash




Garbage Projector, 2022
Video (44:15) displayed on a discarded projector found on the streets of Philadelphia, PA, ink on paper
Infrastructure, RAW Académie, ICA Philadelphia, directed by Linda Goode Bryant
March 16–May 22, 2022

The Mobile Museum, 2022
(w/Baptiste Manet, Matthias Mushinski and Chantal Vorobei Thieves)
More ➝














Permanent Collection, 2022
Peep hole drilled into the gallery wall at ICA, Philadelphia (drawings by ICA staff, past and present), ink on paper
There is an exhibition behind these walls
It is not open to the public and you are not allowed to see it
It is the only permanent display at ICA
and it contains the only artworks that can be said
to be in ICA’s permanent collection
It is not open to the public and you are not allowed to see it
It is the only permanent display at ICA
and it contains the only artworks that can be said
to be in ICA’s permanent collection










Ends and Beginnings (after the fire that burnt Jagger Library), 2021
Cow fat and veldfire ash
I must apologise, I would have preferred
to present to you an empty room
with no art and unimportant walls
at a time when this would have sufficed
because no art was needed. When
I had nothing to say, though you
were still listening
There were no issues to address
and there was no need for exchange
You were not searching
I was not selling anything
Everything that needed to be said
had been said
Everything that needed to be done
had been done
to present to you an empty room
with no art and unimportant walls
at a time when this would have sufficed
because no art was needed. When
I had nothing to say, though you
were still listening
There were no issues to address
and there was no need for exchange
You were not searching
I was not selling anything
Everything that needed to be said
had been said
Everything that needed to be done
had been done



Keeping Up Appearances: 2021.12.17
hand-pressed relief on paper





Carve Until There Is Nothing Left, 2021-22
hand-pressed relief on paper







Lockdown Monotypes, 2020-21
With no access to supplies
Make a monotype every day using tools at hand
palette knife, knife and fork, credit card
dishwashing gloves, tissue, packet
Construct the image spontaneously
Don’t plan ahead
Don’t assess the result
Mark each piece with the number of the day
Make a monotype every day using tools at hand
palette knife, knife and fork, credit card
dishwashing gloves, tissue, packet
Construct the image spontaneously
Don’t plan ahead
Don’t assess the result
Mark each piece with the number of the day
View ⇶


Seen and Not Seen, 2019
Performance with bathtub, water, soap, cotton towel, cotton bathmat, towel rail, soap dish, 155 x 200 x 150cm, duration: 39 days
Performance with bathtub, water, soap, cotton towel, cotton bathmat, towel rail, soap dish, 155 x 200 x 150cm, duration: 39 days
Install a bath in the gallery.
Bathe only there for the duration of the exhibition.
Don’t change the water.
Photograph the bath mat every day.
Bathe only there for the duration of the exhibition.
Don’t change the water.
Photograph the bath mat every day.

Tragedy of the Rainbow Warriors (after Jannis Kounellis and Francois Pienaar), 2021
Chip packets, coat rack, Springbok supporters jerseys, shelf, paraffin lamp
Chip packets, coat rack, Springbok supporters jerseys, shelf, paraffin lamp




Serra’s List, Revised, 2018-21
Ink on paper
Ink on paper

Waste Management, 2017
Linocut on paper, monotype on paper, glue
Linocut on paper, monotype on paper, glue
Linocuts and monotypes, taken from my archive, torn into strips and assembled to form a stack.
Rocking Chair, 2016
Linocut on paper
Linocut on paper



Folding Underwear, Ironing T-shirts, Making Work, 2016
Linocuts on paper
Linocuts on paper
