Hannelie Coetzee’s exploration of her family history has, in part, brought to birth several public artworks – and the artist has shown no sign of slowing down.
Ethereal portraits of people long-gone look down from buildings in places like Maboneng Precinct and Fordsburg; the fruit of Coetzee having taken the emphasis off her photography and pouring her energy into working with stone.
“I was drawn to the city about five years ago, but couldn’t find a space to work in,” she said.
“I then started looking at my family history, to find out where my ancestors lived and worked, and the first of these places was Fordsburg.”
Coetzee discovered that her great grandmother lived there in very poor conditions.
“She had to queue for food, and would receive leftovers from slaughterhouses in the area… I was drawn to this space because of hardships like this – past and present,” she said.
And it was in that space, on the side of Lillian Road Studios, that Coetzee created Ouma Grootjie, a stone mosaic portrait of her great grandmother.
While working on the portrait, Coetzee realised that the ‘man and woman on the street’ could collaborate with her on her artworks.
“When I worked on Ouma Grootjie, people in the area were very happy that I was doing it. People would stop and talk to me, and it widened my horizons when it came to finding sites for artworks. And I found out how open-hearted South Africans are,” she said.
“The turning point was realising that working on the street naturally attracts curious people. I do a lot of listening now.”
Coetzee said that this awareness of social spaces and her immediate environment is something that finds its way into the artwork, and that dialogue with passers-by can provide new perspectives.
“I’m very aware of working in social spaces. I don’t believe in hand-outs, but in empowering people. In the past, my city work was organised and forced. But I’ve taken a step back to let people be a part of this. I strive for authenticity in my works, and I’ve realised that this is a process,” she said.
Coetzee leads walkabouts of her works in Braamfontein, Maboneng Precinct and Fordsburg by arrangement.
Details: www.hanneliecoetzee.com
