Can you share as much as possible about the piece and how you conceived of it?
When I painted the bear he looked like a bear pig so I put a tiger’s mask on him. The original name was bear pig tiger but I decided on Spookasem, an afrikaans word for cotton candy but literally means ghost breath. I loved the idea of this girl with a bear helmet running around the mist on a bear dressed as a tiger.
If you were to describe your work to someone who’s never seen it, what would you say?
That my work is there to create a happy bubble in the pit of your stomach that take you away from real life things for a little while. It’s all about girls and friends and weirdness.
What’s your creative process when producing a piece of art?
I first talk to Anton and we make silly faces and act like the characters to understand their personalities. Then I sketch them and see what they want to do. Then I fight with them for a bit but it works out most of the time.
Would you share three unique things in your workspace that inspire you?
A little black porcelain pig with a hoop earring, a frame from the movie Regular Lovers and a big naked Malfi doll.
What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received in response to your work?
My friend bought his girlfriend one of my prints for her birthday. This was the first time I had sold to someone I knew. It is an amazing feeling.
What’s the art scene like where you live?
Cape town is filled with incredibly talented people, it’s small but good.
What art is hanging on your walls at the moment?
A Mucha “biers de la meuse" print, “Shy Girl” my Frank van Reenan sculpture, a great photograph by Kyle Morland, a weird looking owl and some sketches.
What are you really into right now?
I’m learning how to skateboard, it is so fun. My friend Adrian is teaching me, he’s so good he kickflips over me when I fall.
What would be on your quintessential mixtape?
Some Beatles, some Beirut, Magnetic fields, Final fantasy, Bowerbirds, Johanna Newsom, and Louis Armstrong’s what a wonderful world.
If your art was music, what would it sound like?
Violins and xylophones
What do you have as your desktop wallpaper?
Camille Rose Garcia’s Twilight Forest Explosion
What websites do you check out regularly?
Creep Machine, Fecal Face and Magic Schwarz
What are your vices/guilty pleasures?
Mochi ice cream!
What’s the first picture you can remember drawing as a child?
A chicken with both a smiling mouth and a beak on the side of its face. Amazing.
If you were a dinosaur, what kind would you be and why?
Hahaha I would be a Stegosaurus but act like a T-rex.
What was your last memorable dream?
I was on a boat and we were fishing for strawberries and crabs.
If you had to change careers, what would be next?
A children’s storybook writer.
Are there any upcoming shows or projects you’d like to share?
I am participating in C.A.V.E gallery’s Way of Flow show in December and Salon91 gallery’s Spookasem show in January.
What’s your motto?
Lions and tigers and bears oh my!
