We chatted to Linde Kriel who won a Merit award at the Sasol New Signatures 2022 competition for his piece called [REST]ROOM.
Tell us about your artistic journey up until the point of entering Sasol New Signatures 2022.
I have had a passion for art for as long as I can remember and I even have the first drawing I made in kindergarten. I was lucky enough to attend art classes in the third grade, but it had to be with high school students. My parents have always been very supportive of my art, but they had concerns about pursuing art as a career. After watching my art grow, I guess they realised that I might be able to make a success out of it. In my matric year, I had doubts about studying art, even though it was what I always wanted. I ended up studying theology which I had a passion for, but it just did not feel right. I dropped out and was lucky enough to get accepted into an art curriculum because all the universities had already accepted their students for the next year. I moved 1000 kilometres from home to Bloemfontein to finally do what I loved. It hasn’t been easy, but I can honestly say that my art got me through everything, and here I am today, living my dream.
Why did you create the piece you submitted?
I created this piece for a project we were doing. The theme was “borders”. At that time, people were attacking the transgender community on social media. This was relatively fresh in my mind. People posting sentences like, ”I don’t want to share a bathroom with a man”. These people are isolating borders between the transgender community and their right to feel “comfortable” and welcome in society. I had never done a copper etch at this point, so I thought that I should also work with a new approach to my art. Instead of working with my own gender identity or sexuality, I decided to rather investigate something that I can’t say I’ve experienced. Etching, to me, is a cold medium, and I felt that it would have a strong link to a public bathroom. So that is how I ended up investigating and creating one of my favourite works.
When people view your work – what response are you hoping to create?
When people view this work, I want them to be uncomfortable. I don’t want them to be able to relate to something that they haven’t experienced, because those feelings sometimes create curiosity which might lead them to think about these experiences even after they have moved away from the artwork. And if someone who isn’t a cisgender man or woman views the work, I would like to know that they can relate and understand because then, I feel that I was successful with what I wanted to do.
Why do you think your work was chosen as a top 7?
Because it discusses the challenges that the trans and non-binary communities face within our society, a subject matter that is rarely discussed within the South African LGBTQI+ – and art communities. I believe that my artist statement is strong and helps me better engage with the work. The size of the work draws you in closer when viewing it and allows you to notice the finer detail achieved by the medium of etching, aquatinting and embossing. I think it’s different from most works because of the subject matter and the mediums. It shows that good work doesn’t always need to be big to have an impact.
What are you currently working on?
I am keeping myself busy with some paintings that I sell at a local coffee shop here in Bloemfontein. I’m working on my studies because I want to be the best. My next project will be a reduction linocut. I’m excited about this because I don’t know what to expect. Right now, I am pushing myself even harder than before because I know now what I can achieve and what I want to achieve.
Which South African artists do you admire and why?
My favourite South African artist would have to be Mary Sibande. Her subject matter is not something I can relate to or understand on an emotional level, yet her work speaks in a way that I think anyone can understand. Her art is amazing to me because it can even have an impact on someone who doesn’t understand art.
Details: www.sasolsignatures.co.za
