GROOT GAT

The erasure of Bushman paintings in Africa has left behind a big void, a hole with no end, a gaping omission that lies unfilled. These paintings were the expression of a culture that has long been suppressed, silenced and forgotten. But in Lady Skollie’s work, we see a powerful attempt to revive this lost culture. Lady Skollie’s work is deeply inspired by the Bushman artist Coex’ae Qgam, also known as Dada. Qgam’s paintings were a powerful expression of his people’s connection to the land, their spiritual beliefs, and their daily lives. Drawing on her imagination and the inspiration of artists like Qgam, Lady Skollie seeks to resurrect the spirits of these lost paintings, giving them a voice in the present day. Her work is a celebration of the creativity, resilience, and spirit of the Bushmen people, and a reminder of the importance of preserving and honouring the cultures of the past. Through her art, Lady Skollie invites us to look beyond the erasure of Bushman paintings and to see the beauty and complexity of a culture that has been too long ignored. Her work inspires us to imagine what could have blossomed from this lost culture, and to work towards a future where the voices of all cultures are heard and celebrated.

VENUE

Gallery in the Round | Monument

DURATION

22 June – 02 July

ARTIST BIO

LADY SKOLLIE
(b. 1987 Cape Town, South Africa)
Lady Skollie (born Laura Windvogel) is an artist and activist from Cape Town, South Africa. She graduated with a degree in History of Art and Dutch Literature from the University of Cape Town in 2009
and trained in printmaking. Since graduating, her solo exhibitions include ‘Vroeg Ryp, Vroeg Vrot’, 2015, Stevenson Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa; ‘Ask for what you want’, WorldArt Gallery, 2015, Cape Town, South Africa; ‘The only reason’, 2014, Stevenson Gallery RAMP Project, Cape Town, South Africa and ‘Skattie Celebrates Laura Windvogel’, Association for Visual Arts Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa, 2017. Her highly-anticipated first solo show at Everard Read Johannesburg opened at the end of May in 2019.

Filled with bold colour, god-like figures and suggestive fruits, Lady Skollie’s work revolves around themes of gender, sex and the politics of lust, as well as her explorations of identity.

The artist’s work has been exhibited widely across South Africa, and at a number of international solo and group exhibitions and art fairs. In 2017, along with Tschabalala Self and Abe Odedina, the artist
contributed artwork for the stage design of a gala performance of The Children’s Monologues, a benefit held by the charitable organisation Dramatic Need, directed by Danny Boyle and held at Carnegie Hall in New York, NY, USA. She has been featured on BBC Africa and CNN International on African Voices, as well as on the BBC World Service’s online and radio series In the Studio. She was included in the 2018 edition of OkayAfrica’s 100 Women, an annual list which honours women across 10 different fields for their achievements and influence. She was recognised with the 2019 Mbokodo Award for Art and Design, which celebrates the pioneering spirit of South African women advancing the arts. She also received the 2019 GQ Woman of the Year Award.

In 2019, Windvogel was commissioned to design the new R5 coin to commemorate 25 years of constitutional democracy in South Africa. The coin is currently in circulation throughout South Africa.
In 2020, Lady Skollie was announced as the 10th recipient of the prestigious FNB Art Prize, joining the likes of Bronwyn Katz, Haroon Gunn-Salie, Nolan Oswald Dennis and Turiya Magadlela. She presented a solo exhibition later that year, Bound, at Everard Read Cape Town, followed by a solo exhibition at Everard Read Johannesburg in 2021.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Upcoming, Standard Bank Young Artist Traveling Exhibition
2021 A Prediction, solo, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa
2020 Bound, solo, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa
2019 Good & Evil, solo, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa
Weakest Link, solo, Eastside Projects, Birmingham, UK
Solo booth at Art Joburg, with Everard Read Johannesburg, South Africa
2017 Lust Politics, solo, Tyburn Gallery, London, UK
Fire with Fire, solo booth at FNB Joburg Art Fair, Johannesburg, South Africa
Mating Dance, solo booth at AKAA Art Fair, Paris, France
Hottentot $kollie, Tomorrows/Today, Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, South Africa
2015 One-Night, WorldArt Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2015 Vroeg Ryp, Vroeg Vrot, RAMP Project, Stevenson Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2014 Skattie Celebrates Series, Association for Visual Arts Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND FAIRS
2023 Bitches Brew, Everard Read Johannesbug, South Africa
2022 Art Joburg, with Everard Read Johannesburg, South Africa
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, with Everard Read, Paris, France
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Everard Read Cape Town, South Africa
Things I’d Like to Remember, Everard Read, Cape Town, South Africa
Ancestors and Dreams, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa
2021 Spring Show, Everard Read, Johannesburg, South Africa
Transitory Terrain, Everard Read, London, UK
In Conversation, Everard Read CIRCA, Cape Town
Art Joburg, with Everard Read Johannesburg, South Africa
Investec Cape Town Art Fair Online, with Everard Read Cape Town, South Africa
2020 Against Interpretation, Everard Read, London, UK
Staring Straight to the Future, online exhibition, Everard Read, South Africa & UK
Masterpiece online, with Everard Read, London, UK
2019 CONTEXT Art Miami, with Everard Read, Miami, USA
Art Joburg, with Everard Read Johannesburg, South Africa
2018 Old Masters / New Realities: Gerard Sekoto x Lady Skollie, TMRW Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
This Is the Gallery and the Gallery Is Many Things X at Eastside Projects, Birmingham, UK
Close: Proximity, Intimacy, Tension, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Right at the Equator, Depart Foundation, Malibu, CA, USA
Investec Cape Town Art Fair, with Tyburn Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2016 1:54 Fair, with Tyburn Gallery, London, UK
SEX, Stevenson Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa

AWARDS
2022 Winner, Standard Bank Young Artist Award
2020 Winner, 10th Annual FNB Art Prize
2019 Winner, GQ Woman of the Year Award
Winner, Mbokodo Award for Art and Design