Artists

Nicolene Swanepoel received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1983, and subsequently also received a Bachelor of Vetinary Science in 1991. She also completed her M Tech (Fine Art) degree at the University of Johannesburg in 2008. Before committing to becoming a full-time artist in 2008, she lectured in human-animal interaction and animal behaviour at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, at Onderstepoort, as well as at some European institutions. Swanepoel's background as veterinarian is expressed in her artistic preoccupation with animals and human-animal interaction. Animals are used by humans to yield vital products like food, protective wear, transplantable organs, vaccines and tissue to save human lives, essential objects for medical research, but, more importantly, also as cultural symbols, or rather, animals are employed as vessels/bearers of human culture. Nicolene investigates how contemporary and historic human utilisation and exploitation of animals reflect similar intra-specific behaviour - how our attitudes towards animals mirror our often ‘inhumane' attitudes to each other.

Courtesy of Isle Schermers, 2022.