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Visual Arts student in Paris after winning L’Atelier award
Author: Lynne Rippenaar-Moses
Published: 18/02/2019

What was once considered a debilitating illness that has seen MA Visual Arts student Marguerite Kirsten suffering various medical conditions brought on by chronic kidney disease, has now become the inspiration that secured the young artist from Blouberg the coveted 2018 Absa L'Atelier award.

Kirsten is currently in Paris, France where she is participating in an artist-in-residence programme at the Cité Internationale des Arts, which hosts up to 300 artists from across the world each year. It is thanks to winning the award that she is now participating in this programme.

The L'Atelier award is considered one of “Africa's most prestigious art competitions" and recognises and “rewards young visual artists aged 21 to 35 with the opportunity to develop their talents abroad".

Established 33 years ago and sponsored by Absa and the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA), the competition currently draws entries from artists in 12 countries, including Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Mozambique.

“I did not expect win this award at all," says an obviously happy Kirsten.

“I remember hearing the announcement, but I did not quite register it was me. Someone had to tell me 'that's your name on the screen'." 

Her residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts and living costs in Paris will be covered by the R330 000 prize money she won. During her time at the institute, she will also be working on art works for a solo exhibition that will be held at the Absa Gallery in Johannesburg upon her return.

After being selected as one of the top 10 artists in the competition, Kirsten spent two jampacked days in Johannesburg with the nine other finalists – including Stellenbosch University Visual Arts alumnus, Lemeeze Davids – participating in seminars on legal, financial and media training, gallery practice, how to write artist statements and engaging with Africa's top artists.

“When you see the top 100 exhibitions, you realise that there were many other artists who could have made the top 10. I was on cloud nine just making the top 10 already, so I was honoured and excited to be chosen as the winner of the Absa L'Atelier award."

Kirsten's work used LED lights, medical interviews, copper, laboratory glassware, and even urine, to depict her own struggle with a “diseased body" that was prodded and poked since she was five year's old.

“I started this piece at a time that I was struggling with my academics. In my second year, the renal damage I had suffered at a young age caused me to relapse. I found myself struggling to identify with what was happening to me and I was in a hurry to get a checkup and quick treatment so I could finish my second year. However, I had to be hospitalised in the end and that of course had an impact on my academics."

Kirsten explains it took a while to reconcile herself with the fact that she had suffered a relapse.

“Renal damage can be very painful and you spend a lot of time thinking about drinking enough water to ensure you do not become dehydrated. Also, as a student, there are times that you are in situations where alcohol is consumed, and you have to monitor how much you drink. I could not do sport either because there was the risk that my kidneys would become dehydrated. You spent a lot of time thinking about the kind of things that most people take for granted."

While altering her lifestyle was tough, reaching out her lecturers for support was even harder.

“I had repressed what I was experiencing and I reached the point where I had to ask myself, what was dignified about hiding my body. The reality was that I was living with a diseased body. I am not saying that this is my identity or who I am, but it is a part of my identity."

“It was time to accept my new reality and that I was sick and that meant altering my goals and responsibilities," adds Kirsten.

While away from university, she turned to the thing that brought her comfort – her art.

“It was a very therapeutic moment for me, to step back and separate myself from what I was creating."

In this time, Kirsten's older sister, a Visual Arts alumnus of SU was diagnosed with leukemia, which led to partial kidney failure. “She is in remission now, but her strength and positivity during that time were inspiring to me."

Bearing witness to her own sister's resilience while battling cancer, Kirsten started grappling with “how the body is rendered abject through the psychological effects of the medical industry", specifically her own body.

“The sounds you hear when viewing the installation reference the sounds you would hear in a hospital, like a heart rate monitor, a dialysis alarm or a ventilator machine. You also hear recordings of a discussion I had with a doctor in ER. It illustrates those intimate and uncomfortable discussions one has with doctors when talking about an illness."

“This embodiment attempts to strengthen and dignify my body that has become an object and instrument of the medical institution. The art work has an impact on the senses, but it is a dignifying moment, and even though the art installation can feel all consuming, much like how a disease can, it puts it into perspective for the viewer."  

Davids, who graduated with a BA in Fine Art from SU, was selected as one of the top 10 finalists along with Kirsten for her sculptural installation, called Thank You for My Lunch. It consists of cement pillars with ceramic vessels resting on top of some of them, filled with spices from her mother's pantry.

“I was inspired to work with food in this installation because food speaks to everyone – everyone eats, and everyone has certain foods they like and dislike. This would help people talk about my piece, instead of feeling alienated and intimidated by the possibility of “saying the wrong thing" about a piece of art. A lot of my work tries to undo the supposed scariness of the art world," explains Davids.

“It was also a tribute to my family's culinary history, in particular the cooking of my late grandmother and grandfather, who used these spices in their daily lives."

“As a 'coloured' person, this consists of heavily spiced dishes, curries, & sweetmeats. This cuisine came into being in the early years of the Dutch colonisation of South Africa – a cuisine that echoes my own hybrid identity, rooted in slavery. I have taken the raw substance, the reason the Dutch rounded the Cape – spices – and turned it into a map, an installation that the viewer can navigate through as I have tried to navigate my own history," she adds.

Davids, who is currently completing an Honours degree in Curatorship at the University of Cape Town, is still in disbelief that she was one of the 10 finalists.

“I didn't really expect anything, to be honest. I was shocked and happy for Marguerite and myself. I entered the competition because I was encouraged to do so by the people around me, and I only remembered when I got the call to say I was in the top 10. I still have mixed feelings about a lot of things, but my mother grounded me by saying that it was an indication that people saw potential in me, and that I shouldn't be so quick to dismiss my achievements. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity – it made me feel like I had to keep going as a creative person."

She may not have expected to be one of the 10 finalists, but Davids knew from a young age that she would be an artist.

“When I was in Grade 1 one of my friends told me I should be an artist because I could colour in the lines. I was very impressed by that compliment, even though I rarely colour in the lines these days. When I got older, my passion for art was re-ignited by one of my high school teachers, and I saw art as an opportunity to challenge the way people think."

Now that she is making art beyond the classroom, Davids has some advice to share with young artists.

“It's not a complete misperception that it can be hard to make money as an artist. It's a very difficult field. Not in that money is scarce, but just that you have to be very dedicated and committed to your craft, which is also extremely personal. You can't give up when it gets a little tough. I think it takes a lot of perseverance, but once you get into the field, there are absolutely enormous amounts of money going around."

“It's very possible and easy to make a sustainable living if you're consistent, consistent, consistent! Especially in the peak age of social media and online shopping: if you have a strong brand, you can sell water to a fish."

For Davids, being a finalist in the L'Atelier competition, has brought many opportunities to develop herself.

“Community is very important in the art world. I have met so many incredible people through this competition, who have helped me grow as an artist. No man is an island."

Adds Kirsten: “I think it is important to mention to emerging artists that if you get the opportunity to enter competitions like the L'Atelier, to enter it. You have nothing to lose. I spent two years making this work for my own purposes, but never did I think that I would win this prestigious award."

Photos: MA Visual Arts student Marguerite Kirsten (second from the right in the picture on the far right) won the Absa L'Atelier Award and will be travelling to France for an artist in-residence programme at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris this month. SU alumnus, Lemeeze Davids (third from the left in the picture on the far left), was one of the top 10 nominees to receive the award.