Born in Johannesburg, South Africa (1982), and now based in Seville, Spain, Davina de Beer creates paintings in acrylics and thread that explore relationships between material, memory, architectural structures, and the body. Before moving to Spain, De Beer lived in Oman for thirteen years, where she taught art and exhibited locally and internationally.

Her practice draws from collected imagery of visible signs of loss on weathered surfaces, such as damaged wall tiles and water-stained walls. Recent projects approach these surfaces as layered spaces, placing transparent acrylic glazes on linen in dialogue with embroidery to create works that appear both constructed and eroded. Through paint and thread, these marks become traces of lived experience, drawing parallels between architectural surfaces and skin.

Thread, in particular, functions as a material for repair and healing, appearing to hold onto drips of paint to prevent further loss or instability, while also suggesting acts of control and reclamation. It sutures, it mends, and, where it follows the rigid lines of a grid, it introduces a sense of structure. Yet the repairs remain visible and incomplete, with loose and hanging threads acknowledging that loss is both present and partially healed.

This process of making becomes a form of embodied mapping in which images emerge and dissolve simultaneously, reflecting ongoing questions surrounding instability and belonging.