'KAROO-KADO’TJIES' A SOLO EXHIBITION BY LIZELLE KRUGER

The Karoo and its people represent an inexhaustible supply of source-material to the artist. This series of Karoo-inspired paintings and artworks are essentially the product of a nostalgic pilgrimage to Sutherland and Merweville in the Karoo. The central elements in this body of works are Die Koup, and Tanqua Karoo landscapes with their characteristic vegetation, cement dams, stone kraals, windmills, and “kadotjies” such as eroded enamel bowls, a multi-coloured knitted patchwork quilt, a rustic turquoise cabinet, a rusted bucket, and finally the image of the “Voortrekker nude” or “Boerenimf”. For Kruger, this backdrop of desolate Karoo environment symbolizes Afrikaner identity and heritage, while the depiction of the landscape in combination with the various “kadotjies” and other key elements, serve to compliment the nude and capture the nostalgia of long forgotten generations.

The bonneted “Voortrekker Nude”, represents the collective spirit of the Afrikaner-woman as provider and caretaker of the land. She has no set identity, but always appears as a young woman, usually nude or in old-fashioned undergarments, wearing a “Voortrekker” bonnet, at times concealing her face, and therefore her identity. Her bonnet is symbolic of the strong character of the Afrikaner-female, while her nudity references the emancipation of a new generation, as well as the timeless pre-occupation of artists to capture the truth & beauty of the female form on canvas.

Kruger’s oil paintings, executed largely on found-wood and canvas, express the Post Modern Afrikaner’s concern for their homeland, and by extension a concern for their culture & language. However these forgotten tales of the Afrikaner, which the artist depicts with a touch of tongue-in-cheek humour, speak not only of the transience of a particular culture, but on a far broader level, of the transient natures of youth and of the self, capturing the fundamental paradox of human ideals vs. the reality of nature.

Lizelle Kruger (Born, Humansdorp, Cape Province, 1963) has been practicing as professional fine artist for 27 years. Her works may be found in private collections within South Africa, England, Germany, Austria, Italy, Australia, the USA, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates.

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