Susan Woolf’s most recent achievement is that her artwork depicting the Taxi hand signs has been accepted as the National Stamp of South Africa for 2010.
Woolf has a work in the permanent collection of the Constitutional Court. This is from the Healing Series, which was part of an exhibition at Museum Africa in 1997 – (see details below)
Woolf considers her work Ubuntu on the Mandela@90 exhibition to be of major importance. At the moment it is in the form of a small macquette . but she hopes that this will be made into a large sculpture with each of the 11 pieces being 3 meters high and the entire sculpture over 30 meters in width.
Her use of materials is also very unusual – the Ubuntu macquette consists of beautifully carved wooden “witnesses “which cast a shadow onto sea sand.
Her pieces in the Towards Mandela series were made of newspaper cuttings, teabags and resin.
“I wanted to show that the artists of South Africa could declare their admiration for Nelson Mandela by using materials not traditionally associated with works of art.” Woolf says’
Woolf’s work on view on the Mandela @ 90 exhibition (Constitutional Court 2008) relates to her solo exhibition Towards Mandela which was held at the King Plow Center in Atlanta in 1997. This was organised through Fulton County Arts Council, Leadership Atlanta and 100 Black Men. Woolf was the Project manager of South African Art to Atlanta, Common and Uncommon Ground for the 1996 Cultural Olympiad.
Her installation Healing and 30 Art Books were exhibited in Museum Africa 1997 – 1998. A five storey high aluminium kinetic Mobile City for Absa Bank was collaboration with two architects, Levin and Cawood in 1999. Woolf is documenting Taxi hand signs in South Africa for sighted and blind people. It is the subject matter for an exhibition in 2010 and towards her current thesis in Anthropology and Art at Wits University. An A6 Taxi Hand Book has been published. Woolf’s Taxi hand sign artwork has been accepted for the National Stamp of South Africa for 2010.
The macquette of a 30meter wide outdoor sculpture entitled Witness for Ubuntu is a composite of eleven outdoor sculptures. These cast shadows which collectively read “UBUNTU” throughout the year, every day, at a specific time. Woolf was honoured by the ‘Ampersand Foundation’ and received a Fellowship to study in New York. She has had numerous other exhibitions in galleries and museums in South Africa and abroad and has artwork in major corporate and private collections. Symbolism, meaning and communication are intrinsic to Woolf’s artwork which is generally historically or socially based.
Note from Natalie.
I selected Woolf to participate in the Mandela@90 exhibition as she has conceptual ideas which require the viewer to engage with the artwork.
For example she expresses the view that Madiba’s outreach which encompassing all the peoples of South Africa, is a profound and living example of the true meaning of Ubuntu.
Information courtesy of the artist.
Susan Woolf’s most recent achievement is that her artwork depicting the Taxi hand signs has been accepted as the National Stamp of South Africa for 2010.
Woolf has a work in the permanent collection of the Constitutional Court. This is from the Healing Series, which was part of an exhibition at Museum Africa in 1997 – (see details below)
Woolf considers her work Ubuntu on the Mandela@90 exhibition to be of major importance. At the moment it is in the form of a small macquette . but she hopes that this will be made into a large sculpture with each of the 11 pieces being 3 meters high and the entire sculpture over 30 meters in width.
Her use of materials is also very unusual – the Ubuntu macquette consists of beautifully carved wooden “witnesses “which cast a shadow onto sea sand.
Her pieces in the Towards Mandela series were made of newspaper cuttings, teabags and resin.
“I wanted to show that the artists of South Africa could declare their admiration for Nelson Mandela by using materials not traditionally associated with works of art.” Woolf says’
Woolf’s work on view on the Mandela @ 90 exhibition (Constitutional Court 2008) relates to her solo exhibition Towards Mandela which was held at the King Plow Center in Atlanta in 1997. This was organised through Fulton County Arts Council, Leadership Atlanta and 100 Black Men. Woolf was the Project manager of South African Art to Atlanta, Common and Uncommon Ground for the 1996 Cultural Olympiad.
Her installation Healing and 30 Art Books were exhibited in Museum Africa 1997 – 1998. A five storey high aluminium kinetic Mobile City for Absa Bank was collaboration with two architects, Levin and Cawood in 1999. Woolf is documenting Taxi hand signs in South Africa for sighted and blind people. It is the subject matter for an exhibition in 2010 and towards her current thesis in Anthropology and Art at Wits University. An A6 Taxi Hand Book has been published. Woolf’s Taxi hand sign artwork has been accepted for the National Stamp of South Africa for 2010.
The macquette of a 30meter wide outdoor sculpture entitled Witness for Ubuntu is a composite of eleven outdoor sculptures. These cast shadows which collectively read “UBUNTU” throughout the year, every day, at a specific time. Woolf was honoured by the ‘Ampersand Foundation’ and received a Fellowship to study in New York. She has had numerous other exhibitions in galleries and museums in South Africa and abroad and has artwork in major corporate and private collections. Symbolism, meaning and communication are intrinsic to Woolf’s artwork which is generally historically or socially based.
Note from Natalie.
I selected Woolf to participate in the Mandela@90 exhibition as she has conceptual ideas which require the viewer to engage with the artwork.
For example she expresses the view that Madiba’s outreach which encompassing all the peoples of South Africa, is a profound and living example of the true meaning of Ubuntu.
Information courtesy of the artist.