Merit award winner: Linde Kriel (Bloemfontein)

[REST]ROOM
Copperplate etching

Congratulations on being announced as one of the 7 winners in the Sasol New Signatures Competition 2022. Tell us what your reaction was when you received the news.

When I got the news that I was one of the finalists, I couldn’t believe it. I was so excited shaking so much that I couldn’t even call my mother to tell her the great news. To hear that I am one of the 7 winners was like something beyond my wildest dreams, and I had to reread the email just to make sure that it was real.

Is this the first time you have entered the competition? 

Yes, this is the first time I have entered the competition, and I almost didn’t enter it at all. On the day of submissions, my friend and I decided to try it and ended up running around to get everything ready.

Tell us a little 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.

Who has had the biggest influence on your career as an artist to date? 

I can honestly say that my lecturers and classmates have been the biggest influence on my career as an artist. They push me to do better, and they inspire me. I have to include Dr Adelheid von Maltitz, head of the department, because she has accomplished so much in her career, and Lyrene Kühn-Botma, my print-making lecturer, who introduced me to printmaking and made me realise that I want to become a printmaking lecturer.

Tell us a little about why you created 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. 

Tell us about your preferred medium/s ...and why. 

I have been lucky enough to have been able to explore multiple mediums and I have an appreciation for all of them. But the two mediums I want to explore further are printmaking mediums and painting. In class, I enjoy printmaking, especially etching, more than any other medium. Outside of school I paint, not just as a hobby but I’m also able to sell some of my paintings.

When people view your work – what reaction/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 view 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?

I believe my work was chosen 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 a good work doesn’t always need to be big to have an impact.

And if you are chosen as the overall winner? How would you feel? Have you already got an idea or vision for your solo exhibition?

I think I'd feel validated if I were chosen as the overall winner. Whilst growing up, a lot of people looked down on me and my art and being one of the winners already feels like I have proven to them and myself that they were wrong. I would feel that all those late nights in the printing studio were not wasted. I guess I can say that I would feel on top of the world! I would be lying if I said that I haven’t thought about it. I would love to further explore different rooms and spaces as I did with the bathrooms. But, I want to look at spaces that are out of place or not what they were meant to be. I want my work to show what me and others go through. Themes like the church and homosexuality and how a house isn’t always a safe space. I want to work with topics like mental health, gender, sexuality, religion, culture and race. These are not separate from each other but rather linked, even if we don’t realise it. I would love to present a series of small etches that can challenge the way we think.

What are you currently working on? What is next for you as an artist? 

At the moment, 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 t 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. She is consistent, but at the same time, she is always growing and evolving. Her work can be read like a story, especially with the Sophie character. I admire her because she has an inspiring success story. I wrote my matric exam on her, and I presented a seminar on her. Her work does not get old to me, and I think that proves how great an artist she is.

Anything else you would like to add?

The only other thing I have to say is how grateful I am for this opportunity. It feels like my whole life has led up to this, and I want to say that this is the best thing that has ever happened to me. This is the hardest secret that I have ever had to keep, but it feels worth it. Lastly, I must say that I am looking forward to meeting the other winners and to learn from their stories and art.