Mandy Johnston
Mandy Johnston is a practicing visual artist who currently lives in Cape town, South Africa. She was awarded a Master’s degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2003. Since then, Johnston has worked and collaborated on various inner-city art related projects and initiatives. The latest of these being Assemblage (an arts facilitation organization) and the Artist Career development program.
Johnston has presented 6 solo exhibitions and taken part in many group exhibitions. Her works are part of multiple corporate and private collections. Notably, works for the group show held at the Johannesburg art gallery titled "Negotiate" were commissioned by the "Makeshift" project, initiated by the Joubert Park Project and Canadian National Art Gallery. Johnston is currently working on a new body of work while mentoring young artists.
Artist Statement:
"I am interested in the notion that things are often defined by their antithesis and that often the formation of a value is around the threat of absence. There is pain and fear associated with absence with a thing that once filled space literally or figuratively, now open and vulnerable to be absorbed, used, ignored or quoted. In this, there is also opportunity for reflection, renewal and rebirth. My work almost always refers to a specific historical and cultural context. I use materials for the contextual values, definitions and symbolisms they bring. I am currently interested in the experiential, visceral responses to works of art and am in search of its recipe."
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