Exposing society's cracks through art
“AFTER accepting Jesus as my Lord and saviour, I realised that we all have cracks in our beings, which is the inspiration behind my art,” said artist and businessman, Andre Potgieter.
Using shattered windscreens as part of his artwork, Potgieter has created more than 50 pieces of art in collaboration with a number of local artists. Originally from Pretoria, Potgieter started this unique artwork when he moved to Cape Town about 17 years ago.
“The motivation behind my work was to not make money, but to show the crackedness of the world, both politically and socio-economically,” he said.
Some of Potgieter’s work is displayed at aMadoda, his Woodstock traditional South African braai restaurant or shisa nyama. “I am very nervous of the public. I decided to display my work at aMadoda because it fits well with the brokenness of South Africa during apartheid.”
Potgieter does not restrict his art to paintings, but uses photographs as well as vinyls which are then overlaid with the shattered windscreen, which he collects from panelbeaters and windscreen companies.
“The art is from a number of local artists who I find interesting and, with my collaboration, I am able to give them a space to showcase their art. I chose windscreens because it is not easily recyclable, so using it as a form of art allows me to also recycle at the same time.”
Potgieter, a father of two, said his children are also artists. His daughter is a painter, while his son is a writer. – leletu.gxuluwe@inl.co.za