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16 March 2018 Photo Xolisa Mnukwa
Final-year Fine Art students exhibit their work
Petra Schutte describes the “My Wereld – wat sien jy” canvas.

The annual final-year student exhibition of the Department of Fine Arts is underway, with artists such as Danielle Pretorius, Petra Schutte, Dienka Staal and Robynne Gouws showcasing their art at the Johannes Stegman Gallery on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS).

“My artwork grapples with a sense of destiny or chance,” said Danielle Pretorius. It resembles her memories of Alkanstrand, a beach she visited as a child growing up in Richards Bay. She describes her art studio as a temporary, substitute dwelling place of reflection in which her artistic genius comes alive. 

Final-year student Dienka Staal explained that her artwork drawn from life on her family farm in Kalkfontein, Free State. It depicts her memories and involvements with farming, as well as the elements of power and ownership. She employed colours that suggest flesh, bruises, and wounds in order to equate the farm landscape with the human body. She added that her inspiration was in recalling her childhood.

“My work is the result of a growing fascination with bodily movement which coincides with my love of depicting the human body,” said final-year Fine Arts student Robynne Gouws. She said her artwork had the ability to evoke emotions that elicited different empathetic responses. Gouws further outlined that audiences would be able to project their own sense of equilibrium onto her work which in essence would help them appreciate the meaning of her drawings.

Petra Schutte said unconventional objects such as small animal skulls, used tea bags, hair and insects had always fascinated her and subsequently inspired her artworks, revealing an unknown and unexplored territory in art. 

Their art will be on display until 29 March 2018. The Johannes Stegman Gallery at the UFS Sasol Library is open from Monday to Friday for viewing.

News Archive

Kovsie archer aims for 2016 Olympics
2014-04-24


Sariça Coetzee

For some of us, archery is just something we see on film and television, like in the Hunger Games movies or on the Arrow TV series. Sariça Coetzee, a first-year BA Psychology and Criminology student, however, is almost like South Africa’s very own Katniss Everdeen.

Sariça recently won two gold medals in the division for Junior Women at the South African National Archery Association’s (SANAA’s) National Archery Championships. With the qualifying heats taking place next year, the Olympic Games of 2016, which is just around the corner, is beckoning her.

“I am working hard to get there and would love to go,” says Sariça.

“I train on a regular basis with Riaan Schoeman from Kovsies’ Exercise and Sport Sciences, in order to improve my technique and strength.”

Sariça’s training includes shooting at targets and spending time in the gym.

“I spend about three hours per day, four days a week, on training. In archery it is crucial to be able to keep your body stable when the wind is blowing.”

Sariça, who matriculated at Sentraal High School in Bloemfontein, stared with archery seven years ago.

“We drove past Old Grey’s archery club and I just wanted to do it as well,” she says.

“I begged my parents for almost a year to let me do it. They thought it was just a passing fancy, but I really developed a passion for the sport and had a feeling for archery from the beginning.”

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