13.07.25
A MODERN REVIVAL OF CHARCOAL — AND THE TRUTH IT CAN NO LONGER HIDE
posted by Augustus J CaelthorneWith echoes of Käthe Kollwitz and Egon Schiele, a South African artist revives charcoal as a vessel for trauma and truth. LONDON — July 2025 At a time when much of contemporary art is driven by digital perfection and hyper-saturation, a South African artist is bringing something far older — and far more urgent — to the international stage: charcoal, pencil, ink… and pain. “I Am In This World, But I Am Not From This World” is a series of emotionally charged portraits rendered in monochrome and gold. Rooted in the artist’s own experiences of abuse, rejection and mental health struggle, each work is a visual account of trauma that refuses to be sentimentalised. It is stark. It is clean. It is unflinching. The use of metallic gold, sparing and deliberate, is not for aesthetic flourish but instead a metaphor — for survival, for the fragments of dignity that violence does not erase. Originals are A3 block-mounted works, sold framed, with limited edition giclée prints available up to A0. “We assume oil on canvas is the only language of ‘fine’ art. But there is beauty in rawness. There is truth in graphite.” In a city known for its critical discourse on class, gender, and race, this series sits comfortably within the modern tradition of activist art — quietly powerful, intensely personal, and globally resonant. The project also supports The Lady Isabel Foundation, a South African initiative focused on trauma, healing, and women’s advocacy.