Notes

“My works incorporate found objects, images and junk materials that have been discarded. At present I work with artifacts of our time and try to transform them into archaeological relics, revealing human pathos and weakness. The rusted surfaces suggest scarring and vulnerability. In our attempt to confirm our identity in this volatile climate, we rearrange and reconsider the meanings of banal events and objects. I try to create a poetic moment, an opportunity for contemplation, reconsideration, humility and respect. The phrase slipping away is a metaphor for departure without saying goodbye, leaving quietly, to lose balance and slide unexpectedly.”—Jan van der Merwe

Jan van der Merwe was born in Virginia, Free State and grew up in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, where he matriculated in 1975. He lives and works in Pretoria and is a senior lecturer in Fine Arts at the Department of Fine and Applied Art, Tshwane University of Technology. His work is represented in a number of museums and corporate collections and has also won several awards. In 2006 the Pretoria Art Museum hosted a comprehensive retrospective exhibition, entitled: The Archaeology of Time. In 2013 he presented a solo exhibition, Time and Space, at Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Bloemfontein.