Biography
Jacquie Tarr, born in 1957, began drawing and painting from a young age, driven by a deep need for artistic expression even as she pursued careers as an environmental consultant and journalist. Now a full-time artist, her work reflects a lifelong dedication to capturing the essence of the natural world
Training
Jacquie has honed her skills through numerous art courses at the University of Cape Town and in -studio work with Belgian painter Martine Joaris-Masson and South African artist Jill Trappler. She currently works with South African based Michelle Kriek as her mentor.
Exhibitions and commissions
• 1992: Invited to exhibit alongside Armien Zander and Heinz Pulon at Die Muschel, Swakopmund
• 2002–2017: Featured in over 10 group exhibitions across South Africa and Namibia
• 2014: Solo exhibition, Sketches from Life, at FNCC, Windhoek, a fundraiser for the Have-a-Heart Namibia
• 2014: Two paintings selected for the Bank Windhoek Triennial at the National Art Gallery of Namibia (NAGN)
• 2018–2020: Awarded corporate commissions for Emoneko Group, Gondwana Collection and Shipwreck Lodge; produced a painting 'Temperatures Rising' for the Namibian Chamber of Environment
• 2019: Solo exhibition, Shifting Horizons, at The Fine Art Gallery , Swakopmund
• 2021: Two artworks selected for the Bank Windhoek Triennial, NAGN
• 2024: Illustrations for the book The Stonemen – Flint and friends in Kaokoland by Ron Swilling (Venture Media), and artworks exhibited at the book launch held at BELLHAUS Atelier & Galerie in Windhoek
• 2024: Cover illustration for Rod Lichtman's book Then and Now (Venture Media)
• 2024: Solo exhibition, Namib Landscapes and People, at the 6th International Southern Deserts Conference, Walvis Bay
Artist's statement
I am fascinated by line and movement: the light, dynamism and rhythms projected from nature. I try to draw and paint directly from life in an attempt to impart energy to the work and convey my feelings regarding our rapidly changing natural world.
About this exhibition
Postcards to and from the future
A postcard to the future enables us to acknowledge and appreciate what we have right now; something that could be lost or altered over time. A postcard from the future encourages us to think about how things might change, for better or worse, based on our past and current choices.
In my case, as a mother and environmentalist, contemplating the spaces that emerge when looking forward and backward in time has meant confronting bereavement on both a personal and global level
While painting these images, I occupied a liminal place. I drew on my experience of overwhelming loss: the recent, tragic death of our son; the terror of being surrounded by a raging veld fire; and, not least of all, witnessing the forfeiture of biodiversity and ecological integrity at the hand of humankind’s insatiable consumerism and exponential use of fossil fuels and synthetic chemicals.
My attempts at expressing these experiences through visual images has been cathartic. Preparing for this exhibition has helped me connect better with myself, with others and move forwards towards a radical acceptance of ‘What Is’.
Acknowledgements
I acknowledge the use, in my titles, of the following lines of poetry:
• " I contain multitudes for every atom that belongs to me, as good belongs to you … " , taken from Song of Myself (1855) by Walt Whitman
• " … And nobody gets out of it, having to swim through the fires to stay in this world", extracted from Dogfish (2010) by Mary Oliver
• “ Your body is away from me, but there is a window open from my heart to yours. From this window, like the moon. I keep sending news secretly.” The Window by Rumi.
Charcoal. Original work printed on canvas
300x1200mm
NAD 1,200.00
PORTRAIT III
JT003
Charcoal. Original work printed on canvas
300 x 210mm
NAD 1,200.00
Asemic Writing I
Mixed media on paper
370 x 480mm
NAD 1,850.00
Asemic Writing II
Mixed Media on paper
370 x 480mm
NAD 1,850.00
At what cost? Diptych
After the Fire II
Conte and ink on paper
420x610mm
NAD 1,800.00
Indicator Species I
Mixed media on paper 360x380mm NAD
Indicator Species II
Mixed media on paper
480x510mm
After the Fire III
Mixed media broken collage
480x510mm NAD 2,200.00
Life goes on: Root I
Life goes on: Root II
October 2020 - March 2022
Mixed media on paper
540x680mm
Biodiversity
Biodiversity
Waiting for Rain 2024
Waiting for Rain 2024
After the fire III
Conté on paper 420x610mm NAD 1,800.00
Survivor
Mixed media on paper
After the fire 2021
Mixed media on paper
If it’s hidden, reveal it.
Let it be the best it can be
Its new state needs to be an improvement.
If it’s heavy, give it the option of flight.
If it’s dull and needs to shine, polish it.
If it’s horizontal, let it stand up
If it’s round, give it the option of corners.
If it’s small, let it be big.
If many are similar, then order them collectively
If it tells a story, convey it in the simplest terms.
If it’s sad or happy, show how much.
-Trevor Nott-
650 x 360mm
NAD 4,000.00
NAD 6,500.00
In Your Hands
Its Yours
Oil
x 220mm
Any Help You Can Get
In Step
NAD 16,000.00
Cling To What You Have TN020
NAD 17,000.00
Prickly Answer
From A Drop
The Conservation Ethic TN023
Stretching Out
380 x 670 x 1600mm NAD 15,000.00
Dining Table
Mild Steel + Cast Aluminium
780 x 100 x 2200mm
NAD 25,000.00
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Prices in this catalogue exclude shipping and are in namibian Dollars.
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