A magnificently detailed artistic creation consisting of nine white porcelain birds, each mounted in its own wood-and-glass box, has bestowed on Toni Pretorius (32) the title of overall winner of the very first Phatshoane Henney New Breed Competition in November last year.
Entitled ‘Amassing for our Carrion King,’ and made from porcelain, wood, glass, vinyl, ink and brass, her entry was praised by the judging panel as “an exquisite piece of art to address contemporary views on mortality, the brevity of life and human behaviour.” In addition her work showed “technique and craftsmanship of the highest quality, supported by a sound conceptual foundation,” resulting in a unanimous winner’s vote from all five judges.
Pretorius is a qualified Bloemfontein artist who hails from Kimberley. In 2006 she completed her diploma in Fine Art at the University of the Free State and in 2011 completed her B.Tech degree in Fine Art at the Central University of Technology, majoring in sculpture. Today she is employed as an artist in the National Museum in Bloemfontein’s design department and practises as a fine artist.
Elretha Britz, arts editor for Volksblad and Netwerk24, interviewed Pretorius shortly after winning the total prize money of R50 000. She shared with Britz her deep love for porcelain, an artistic medium which is not only rare but also very hard to work with. Which is exactly why she prefers it. “Porcelain is not elastic, becomes as dry as chalk and has no texture. The artists has to create the texture. That is what I like,” she said.
Being praised for her workmanship, also didn’t come as a surprise to Pretorius, as she is very precise in her work. “I like detail, very fine detail, and if everything is not perfect, I’ll do it over and over again until it is exactly as I want it to be,” she told Britz.
Yet, despite her perfectionism, she admitted to Britz that competitions aren’t her favourite thing. “The New Breed competition however didn’t intimidate me because it is just for Free State based artists and all the artists here know each other.”
So what’s next for this hugely talented artist? She conceded to already having a large body of completed work that she’ll possibly use for a solo exhibition soon – everything made from porcelain. Any chance she’ll distance herself from the medium anytime soon? “Not a chance,” she smiled.
Click here to visit her full profile and for more information on her winning entry.