Jeannette Unite 
Curriculum Vitae
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Art Education
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1996: Unisa, Part time, Fine Art. 1985: BA Fine Art, University of Cape Town. |
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Workshops
& residencies
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2011 : Artist-in-Situ, Michaelis Galleries,UCT. 2003: Bagfactory, Johannesburg. 2001: Thupelo Workshop, Iziko South Africa National Gallery, Cape Town. 1999: Thupelo Workshop, ISANG, Cape Town. |
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Exhibitions(solo)
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2011: Paradox of Plenty, Michaelis Upper Gallery, University of Cape Town.
2010: Fragile Earth, Grande Provence, Franschhoek, Cape Town. 2009: Headgear, Turbine hall, Gold of Africa Museum, Johannesburg; Headgears, 9th Tashkent Biennale, Central Asia, Uzbekistan. 2008: Remembering the Future, Western Cape Archive Repositary, Cape Town. 2007: Hot Earth, Namakwaland - Copper, Thompson Gallery, Johannesburg. 2004: Earthscars, A Visual Mining Exploration ‐ Diamonds, Gallery@157, Johannesburg; William Humphreys Gallery, Kimberley; Mozambique National Gallery; Irma Stern Museum, UCT, Cape Town. 2002: Sentences, London Zebra Two. 2001: Sentences, Bell‐Roberts Contemporary Gallery, Cape Town. 1999: Thresholds, Irma Stern Museum, UCT. 1995: Recent Works, Chelsea Gallery Abstracts, Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town. 1993: Recent Works, AVA, Cape Town. 1990: Sensuous Images, Wandel Street Gallery, Cape Town. |
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Exhibitions (group) |
2012: HAWK Group Art Intervention, (curated by Lien Botha) Overberg, Western Cape ; Return to the Archive, Museum Africa, Johannesburg.
2011: Iizkhwepha Zhetu /Shaping our Minds, (curated by Phumzile Dlamini), Durban Art Gallery (Catalogue); 3 Parts: More Harmony, South African, United Emirates & Mozambique artists (curated by Phumzile Dlamini), Durban Art Gallery (Catalogue); Alumni Exhibition & Auction, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town. (Catalogue) 2010: 6 Meters Under, 4th Beijing International Art Biennale, China; The Lie of the Land: Representations of the South African Landscape, (curated by Michael Godby), Iziko Michaelis Collection, Old Town House, (Catalogue); Fragile Earth Glass, Project room, Grande Provence Gallery, Franschhoek ; TERRA: Above Below, Oliewenhuis Museum, Bloemfontein. (Catalogue); Salon de Confuses, (curated by Andrew Lamprecht) Rose Korber Salon. 2009: On Top of the World, (curated by Andre Vorster) (catalogue). 2008: Remembering the Future, Western Cape Archives and Records Services, Old Gaol Building, Roeland Street, Cape Town;Restructuring the Colonial,Thompson Gallery, Johannesburg. 2007: Visions of Africa,Pretoria Art Museum,Pretori. 2006: HERM-Boundaries Between Wild & Cultivate, Ann Bryant East London. 2005: Portraits,Scarlett Gallery, Greytown.GunfreeSA, Constitution Hill Auction,Johannesburg. 2004: Surfacing(with Lynee Lomofsky),Unite Studio Gallery, Cape Town. On The Wall, Earls Court London.Clementina's Art Gallery,Kalkbay, Cape Town. 2003: S.U.M. Bag Factory Residency Exhibition,Fordsburg Art Studios,Johannesburg; The Foundary,Cape Town. 1994: Musee D'art Contemp Internationale, Franc Print Trienniale. 1993: Aids Awareness,AVA. Brides, Irma Stern Museum, UCT. In Black And White,ISANG. 1992:Flash Of The Spirit,Baxter Theatre Gallery.Art Now, AVA. 1990:Critics Choice, AVA. 1989:Red Cross Charity Ceramics Exhibition-Travelled Nationally. 1981: Kelloggs Young Artists Exhibition, Cape Town. |
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Collections
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Anglo-KUMBA, Development Bank of South Africa, Swiss:Re, MTN, Isiqithi HQ, Johannesburg; Vodacom,Fairbridges, DEVS, PEZULA, UCT Chemical Engineering Building, Cape Town; William Humphreys Museum, Kimberley; Department of Science and Technology, CSIR Building, Pretoria; Clifford Chance, Belgium; Old Mutual Place, London. |
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Publications (Magazines & newspapers)
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2006: Award winning artist in double show. Daily Despatch, May 24. 2004: Earthscars. The Star, Johannesburg, Dec. 16. Die swaar voet van die mense. Die Beeld, Dec. Pick of the week. Cape Town Mail & Guardian, February 20. Energy, emotion and eco-morality. Cape Times, February 25. Minerals incorporated into artists palette. Monday Paper vol. 23. Johannesburg Mail & Guardian, March 1. 2002: Gallery scores a major coup with artwork by Nelson Mandela. Ham & High, October 18. Chicken livers with Chocolate sauce. Sinday Times Metro, January 27. Staussin musiikki juhlistiuudenpaaiva Helsingissa. Hesingin Sanomat, January. 2001: S.A. art in Finland. Weekend Argus, December 15. Music bring paintings to life. Argus, April 17. Kaukainen Etela-Afrikka onkin hyvin laheinen. Helsingin Sanomat, December. 1998: My week in pictures. Sunday Life, November 22. 1994: Jeannette unites vibrant energy with her artwork. Sunday Times, May 22. 1992: Angry artist puts violence on her walls. Cape Times. Bushmen Art. Cape Times. 1990: Female nudes lost in paint. Cape Times, April 9. Artist work strong, thick & gestural. Argus, March 23. 1981: Kellogg'syoung artists award. Sunday Times, October 18. |
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Teaching(art workshops)
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2009: Artist materials workshops, Nairobi. 2003: Bagfactory staff education. 2002-2008: Corporate equity, Old Mutual. 1999-2000: Vukani, Nyanga Township, Cape Town Art. 1987-1997: Frank Joubert Art & Design Centre (special needs education), Printmaking – etching/ silkscreen/ lino relief printing. Foundation School Art, Education department UCT, Pinelands Adult Education. 1986: Franschhoek Art Gallery, facilitator of workshops. |
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Awards
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2011: AEGIS Travel Grant to University Autonoma, Madrid Spain.
2009: Art Moves Africa (AMA) Travel Grant for Research in Africa. 2009: Tashkent Biennale Merit Award for the most original use of natural materials in her work. 2006: Glass Wall Installation, Public Art Commission Award, CSIR Building Department of Science and Technology, Tshwane, Pretoria. 2004: Oliewenhuys Competition (Glass & Steel Water Sculpture) Shortlisted. 2004: Constitutional Hill (Glass & Steel Water Sculpture) Shortlisted. 1981: Kelloggs Young Artists Award First Prize competition 4 Year International Art Scholarship. |
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Website
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Essays & Reviews
Terra : Jeannette Unite (Catalogue)
TERRA: Mining the Artist’s Paintbox from the African Industrial Landscape
Ten years ago I started spending time on mines. My shock response to the 40-year old diamond prospecting pits on the paleaolithic African West Coast beach deposits resulted in the first body of work I exhibited as “Earthscars: A Visual Mining Exploration” in 2004. This show has travelled in different forms to site significant cities and galleries around the SADC countries. Mining has defined African cultural and socio-political identity and the impact of colonialism and globalization affects how we occupy our current landscape.
The work expanded from Earthscars to exploring rehabilitation plants and environmental relationships. Conversations around visual interpretation of the extractive industry with geologists, engineers, metallurgists, and industrialist’s have further expanded my understanding of mining. I have developed paint and pastel and glass recipes from the advice of earth scientists, geo-chemists, paint-chemists and a ceramicist to develop this ‘eco-alchemic’ work.
Over the past decade visual explorations include journeys to Namaqualand, Simon van der Stel’s copper mine, the first colonial mine from 1685, to harbours and construction sites and visits to active gold, coal, salt, manganese, titanium and platinum as well as obsolete and archaeological mine sites. I take photographs from these travels and duplicate images from mining museums and archives, the internet, mining journals and libraries. But the most significant treasures I get from mines are the sands and detritus soiled with history.
My pallette is jars filled with metalliferous and diamondiferous mine dump sand, dust, overburden and metal oxides. My artworks incorporate industrial waste containing enough metal to yield startling colour when molten in kilns in extreme temperatures. The artist as end user of mining re-establishes the art and science link and reminds us that pre-industrial era artists used pestles and mortar in art production. The abstract chthonic glass panels are constructed from recycled detritus and sometime toxic material like lead, arsenic and cyanide that catalyse the mineral and metal reactions.
My material is both subject and object of this corpus of work. Abstract landscapes are made from the actual landscape in a ‘beauty-from-waste’ aesthetic.
I am currently investigating a way to transform current research into work around the issues of the Resource Curse, also known as the ‘paradox of plenty’.
Jeannette Unite March 2010
* Originally posted on Frontier Country by Rat Western
Publications
Terra Nova Andrew Lamprecht & Ivor Powell (Eds)
A Peer-Reveiwed 192 Full-Colour Monograph on 2 decades of research.2012
Headgear: Mining Engineering Drawings
Critical Interventions, 6: 91-101, Spring 2010
TERRA: Sands and Detritus Soiled with History
Art South Africa, 9(1):98-9, Spring 2010
Exploring the Visual Residues of Colonial Exploitation
Nukta Art:Contemporary Art Magazine of Pakistan. 5 (1): 80-85. 2010
