Sue Hoppe is a painter/photographer from Prince Albert. Her first love, creatively, is photography, using her photos to illustrate books, and in her art. She was a potter in the 80s and started painting in 1999, working in oils, and mixed media/encaustic. Sue has exhibited extensively, in solo and group exhibitions, and at N.A.F in Grahamstown. She has work in private and corporate collections locally and internationally, including the World Bank and the permanent collection at William Humphries Art Gallery.
Before we made the move to Prince Albert in 2019, I had been feeling increasingly claustrophobic living in a semi-detached house in the inner city of P.E. Crime, grime and security measures made the city and our home feel like prison. And it was very evident in my art.
But then our long-held dream became a reality, and we escaped to the karoo. Six years on, I still revel in the sense of freedom and open space here, and the “celebration of karooness” which transformed my work when we moved, is still in progress, with a growing appreciation for the perfect imperfection that characterises this place.
So, my latest work still tends towards evoking a nostalgic feeling of the freedom of the open road, through magnificent landscapes, and the joy it brings to be absorbed into these humbling surroundings.
It builds on decades of combining photography with various forms of painting, until my main media are currently a combination of photography and encaustic (melted wax), and cyanotype printing (the original blue-print process of exposing chemicals to UV radiation from the plentiful Karoo sun, to give archival quality Prussian-Blue prints. Most cyanotype artists either use negatives for contact prints, or solid objects, usually plant matter, to give block out prints. I usually combine both. They can be toned, using natural tannins, to wonderful, subdued greys and browns, which again resonate with the Karoo landscape.
The Karoo is harsh and arid and scrubby and scruffy, yet simultaneously warm and embracing and inviting. It oozes nostalgia for a time past… whether it is in the geology which is full of aquatic fossils, or the derelict buildings that speak of past productivity and prosperity. From the donkey carts which still ply the backroads to rusting art-deco vehicles scattered in the veld, the beautifully restored Victorian houses side by side with humble mud-walled Karoo cottages, all speak of extreme contrasts and time past. Expressing all this in varied artworks is my ongoing obsession.”
Contact Sue
083 261 9671 – What’s App works better
sue@elgecko.co.za
Studio – Miller’s 35 Christina de Wit Street
http://www.instagram.com/suzihoppe
http://www.suehoppe.co.za
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