Left behind 2025 Japanese Koi Colouring Brush on paper
30 x 42 cm (h x w)
Agency of objects
Curator’s comments after conversations with the artist
We are used to seeing exhibitions of fully resolved artworks, so it’s fascinating when, within the formal structure of an art gallery, an artist shares her process work and creative triggers alongside her finished artworks.
Gwen has told me about her interesting 3-month residency in Paris at the Cité internationale des Artes earlier this year (more information about this residency at the back of the catalogue).
Like many artists, Gwen arrived at the residency with a strong sense of privilege at having been granted time out of her daily life to just create art. But although understanding that this would be a transient state, she wasn’t completely prepared for her feeling of being adrift. She says:
Although exciting, the experience can also bring its own discomfort, of being ‘out of place.’ This gave rise to my need to establish a temporary home, not only for survival but also for a sense of belonging.
So, despite the residency being an opportunity to ‘escape’ routine life, Gwen spoke of her need to set up small personal rituals to create some sense of meaning during this short but significant time. One important meeting for her was with a fellow South African, and they would sometimes share evening meals. Her acrylic ink painting Paper bowl in Paris speaks of the comfort of this temporary sharing of meals.
Gwen was also confronted immediately with the reality of the refugee situation in Paris on her arrival at the Cité.
Staying for three months at the Citè, I became aware of and very moved by the refugees of the city. The elongated structure of the Citè Internationale des arts building offered a roof over the refugees as they pitched their tents every evening, just to dismantle them every morning.
Her ongoing proximity to the refugees and empathy for the transient nature of their lives echoed her own unease at being in unfamiliar surroundings. The refugees’ lives in makeshift tents, and their needing to take them down and rebuild them again daily, has influenced the bulk of
this artwork. We, and our objects, are all here in a temporary state - in various stages of belonging and not belonging. My work contemplates this state of being somewhere in-between and an acute awareness of the temporary nature of existence.
Creatively, Gwen explored aspects of the tents via sketches, paintings, collage works, and a small installation. The After Supper series refers to the way the refugees would shut themselves into their tents after their evening meals, seeking safety, the only sign of life being the glow of light from within their impermanent shelters.
She also probes the lack of practical means available to refugees. For example, Axe It, Dig It, and Shovel It, the small installation maquettes, are made from recycled packaging, and reveal through their titles how transient folk must make do with any accessible materials as tools to build their temporary homes.
A body of artwork created during a short period of intense making often tells powerful, related stories. When curating this exhibition, I tried to emphasise the narrative links between the works. A further narrative revealed itself through exhibiting at gordart Stokvel Gallery – it is located within 27 Boxes, a shopping precinct created out of shipping containers.
Gwen concludes:
This gallery offers a special ‘homecoming’ for my work – a reflection on how the context of the space enhances the concept of my work.
Mandy Conidaris
With thanks to Gordon Froud and his Stokvel Gallery for the support and opportunity to exhibit.
The artworks
Street in Paris
Acrylic on collaged canvas
57,5 x 360 cm (h x w)
Details of Street in Paris from left to right
INSTALLATION
Shovel It 2025
Maquette
Acrylic on recycled food packaging
(constructed to think through actions)
10 x 26 x 14 cm (h x l x w)
INSTALLATION
Dig It 2025 Maquette
Acrylic on recycled food packaging
(constructed to think through actions)
30 x 28 x 15 cm (h x l x w)
INSTALLATION
Acrylic on recycled food packaging
(constructed to think through actions)
25 x 21 x 12 cm (h x l x w)
INSTALLATION
Between places and people
2025
Acrylic and collage on paper
66,5 x 72,5 cm (h x w)
Sketch for Installation maquettes
2025 Ink and acrylic paint on grey
sketchbook paper
30 x 21 cm (h x w)
Sketch for Between places and people
2025 Ink and acrylic paint on grey
sketchbook paper
21 x 30 cm (h x w)
After Supper 3 2025
30 x 30 cm (h x w)
Acrylic on canvas
After Supper 5 2025
30 x 30 cm (h x w)
Acrylic on canvas
After Supper 4
30 x 30 cm (h x w)
Acrylic on canvas
After Supper I
30 x 30 cm (h x w)
Acrylic on canvas
Where were you born?
Gicleé print of inked
Etching plate
Edition size: 10
15 x 20 cm
x 20 cm (h x w)
Tents at Night
After Supper 2
30 x 30 cm (h x w)
Acrylic on canvas
Sketch for Tent in Paris
2025 Ink and acrylic paint on grey sketchbook paper
30 x 21 cm (h x w)
Tent in Paris 2025
Acrylic inks on paper
15 x 32 cm (h x w)
Blanket in Paris
inks on paper 24 x 40 cm (h x w)
Paper bowl in Paris
2025 Acrylic inks on paper, 24 x 40 cm (h x w)
Building a home with an axe
Edition size: 30
20 x 20 cm (h x w)
Tool IV 2025
Drawing of found object at Ponte de Mucela
Site-specific Walnut ink on Hahnemühle paper
Ink handmade by Celia de Villers at Ponte de Mucela
12,5 x 18,2 cm
Tool III 2025
Drawing of found object at Ponte de Mucela
Site-specific Walnut ink on Hahnemühle paper
Ink handmade by Celia de Villers at Ponte de Mucela
12,5 x 18,2 cm
Tool VI 2025
Drawing of found object at Ponte de Mucela
Site-specific Walnut ink on Hahnemühle paper
Ink handmade by Celia de Villers at Ponte de Mucela
12,5 x 18,2 cm
Tool I, Tool II, and Tool V from left to right
Tool VII, Tool VIII, and Tool IX from left to right
Tool X and Tool XI from left to right
Tool XII
2025 Pick from La Grande Ville,
France
Site-specific Walnut ink on Hahnemühle paper
Ink handmade by Celia de Villers at Ponte de Mucela
12,5 x 18,2 cm
Gwenneth Miller Agency of objects
Cité Internationale des arts, in Paris
Most of the works on exhibition were created during my stay at the Cité Internationale des Arts, in Paris - Site du Marais, Cité Internationale des Arts, 18 rue de l’Hôtel de Ville.
The Cité Internationale des Arts provides live-in studios at the Marais and Montmartre sites, where residents can live and create in the company of more than 300 artists and cultural professionals of every generation, nationality and discipline. The Marais district is home to the major museums and galleries in Paris, making it a perfect setting for visual research.
I applied for the residency via SANAVA (South African National Association of Visual Artists) who supported my application process. Unisa provided the financial support as part of their pledge to support creative output research – without this gracious support of funds and time, this exhibition will not have been possible
The work was publicly exhibited during the Cité Internationale des Artes Open Studio event on 2 April. The exhibition opening was well attended by residents and art lovers from the district. The exhibition remained open until 16 April 2025, which allowed for many valuable conversations and networking opportunities to take place.
Whilst the public Open Studio event usually marks the end of each artist’s stay, I fortunately had time to attend an etching course in the Cité’s professional printing studio under master printer Hélène Bautista at Atelier de Gravure.
mandy conidaris
webpage: #an_uncomplicatedcurator
Catalogue created by Mandy Conidaris
