Catherine Holtzhausen’s 365-Piece Solo Exhibition

WORDS Lindi Brownell Meiring

Cape Town-based collage artist Catherine Holtzhausen recently opened her first large-scale solo exhibition – entitled THATSCRAP – showcasing 365 mixed-media pieces.

This monumental project, which became a daily method of therapy while Catherine struggled with mental illness, is a visual record of Catherine’s attempts to reflect on the role that class, gender and economy have on her life as a female artist. The project took longer than 365 days after Catherine suffered a mental and physical burnout in 2017, making her hands tremor uncontrollably, which of course impacted on what she was able to create.

While Catherine normally cuts up her hand-printed and hand-painted watercolours, oil monoprints and collagraphs, before putting them back together to create a complete artwork, she experimented with found imagery from old issues of National Geographic, as well as film photography during this time.

Take It.

As the project continued, Catherine’s artworks matured, challenging social constructs women face on a daily basis. Her work aims to invoke a sense of joy in the audience, to remind the viewer in a, at times, humorous way that they are worthy and wonderful.

The exhibition is open until 31 May at Alliance Française du Cap, 155 Loop Street, Cape Town.

To keep up to date with Catherine and her work, follow her on Instagram.