Cape Town artist, Gillian Mathew will be showcasing her work at Voila in The French Quarter on Saturday morning.
Cape Town artist, Gillian Mathew will be showcasing her work at Voila in The French Quarter on Saturday morning.
Entitled Relationships, the exhibition aims to allow people to connect with the artworks according to how they feel. "I don’t want to explain the work to the people but to allow them to have their own relationship with each image," she says. Based in Cape Town as an art teacher and illustrator, Mathew says this his is her first exhibition although she has exhibited before as an illustrator.
She uses scraper board (also known as scratch board) for her drawings because she loves exploring light and dark in her work. Scratch board is a plain, white-coated drawing board covered with india ink, which, when dry, is scratched with a scratch knife to produce a snow white line and strong contrasts.
Mathew says it is like having a conversation with her work. She likes depicting hands, bowls, jugs, spoons as well as sea shells that she has collected. She first applies ink and then "works into the surface" using sandpaper and a craft knife to create her finished product. Black scraper board is traditionally used for illustrations and advertisements but Mathew says she loves working with white scraper board although it is scarce in South Africa.
"There is only black scraper board in the country and it is difficult to get white. The stock I have at the moment was sent to me by a friend in Switzerland," she said. Mathew said her inspiration comes from her everyday life. "If I see something, anywhere, and it sticks in my mind for a long time I know I have to draw it." She also said that her work is done so that it is "accessible and I want people to have their own relationship with the images." When she draws, it can be something that keeps memories of the people in her life alive. She mentioned that when she was drawing a picture of her mother’s jewellery box this was what happened. "My mother passed way last year and drawing the jewellery box was like having a conversation with her."
Mathew describes her work as unusual yet waht she believes people are able to relate to. Some of the artworks are symbolic and one should be able to have a different response to each and every piece. Mathew says she is looking forward to interacting with the public and seeing their responses. The artworks will not be for sale but there will be prints available for those who are interested.
