Conversations and art

Conversations and artThe Project Room presents Conversation with a Stranger Here is an exhibition you can catch, as of today. Conversation with a Stranger is a joint exhibition of paintings, illustrations and prints by Martina Basson and Marcii Magson. Both artists work in black and white but their work could not be more contrasting. Artist Basson's work shows finely illustrated line work, often playful and decorated. Magson's paintings, on the other hand, are bold abstract statements and yet they speak to each other. Magson says she draws her inspiration from looking at the spaces in between the visual obvious, the negative space, where a whole other is revealed, and this resonates with her. According to her, in every subject there is more than presented to the eye and looking past the obvious, close observation and engagement of the subject is her process.

“I decontextualise. I take matter apart and then I put it back together again. The challenge is to see beyond the distraction of the conspicuous and to capture its unique self. My goal is to inspire those who see my work to look more carefully at the world around them, to discover obscurity in unusual places,” she said.

Basson grew up on the countryside of the Western Cape. Art and design has been part of her every day since she started attending art classes at the age of seven. She recalls as a kid hanging out where the pens and paper were, doodling away. In high school Basson fell in love with textile design and screen print. Consequently she went on to study fashion design at Elizabeth Galloway Academy in Stellenbosch, Western Cape. In 2017 she took the leap of faith to do what she always wanted to do and she finally opened Martina Basson Illustration.

“The medium I prefer to work with is black pen on white paper and my illustrations are made up of fine hand-drawn lines, simplicity and detail. I find inspiration in nature, my faith and the rhythm of patterns and lines. Sometimes I'll wake up with a clear, mapped-out plan in my head. It's almost like I feed my brain with music, data, visual information and experiences, and in my subconscious state everything aligns to produce a map of codes that then becomes a solid idea and I make a project out of it,” she said.

The exhibition Conversation with a Stranger opens today at 18:00 at the Project Room in 32 Jenner Street, Windhoek West and will end on 25 August. Opening hours are on Tuesday to Friday 09:00 to 13:00 and on Saturday 10am-13:00.



June Shimuoshili