Strauss & co - 19 November 2015, Johannesburg

EDUCATION ENDOWMENT AUCTION 30 77 DIANE VICTOR and JOHAN THOM SOUTH AFRICAN 20TH CENTURY Elephant Skull Colaborations signed, dated ‘14, numbered T/P 1/1 in pencil and embossed with the Artist Proof Studio chop mark in the margin etching, aquatint and sugarlift sheet size: 201 by 108 cm; image size: 179,5 by 86,5 cm R30 000 – 40 000 remains its multifarious capacity to reflect and to intervene in the hopes, dreams, fears and desires of society.’ Thom has exhibited in South Africa and Europe including the Venice Biennale 2003 and The International Computer Arts Festival in Slovenia as part of various group shows, projects and workshops. Diane Victor , born in 1964, received her BA of Fine Arts Degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg with a major in Printmaking. Her prints and drawings are known not only for their technical skill and meticulous detail, but also for their political edge, piercing social commentary and satirical nature. Victor unfolds mythological allusion in her work and draws upon global historical references as a means to speak of the social and political inequalities and complexities of South Africa. Violence, racial anxiety and sexual repression are common ideas represented in the works. Victor’s works are included in many collections, including: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, Museum of Modern Art, NY, Baltimore Museum of Art, MD and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Victor has established herself as a major figure in the South African and International art community. Johan Thom was born in 1976 and is a performance/installation artist. His works have appeared in various public urban contexts ranging from parks, cultural institutions , museums, galleries, tourist attractions and at his home. The works draw from his experience of everyday life in South Africa, as well as from distinctly different cultural traditions (such as those presupposed by performance art groups like the Yomuri Independent, Fluxus, the Viennese Secessionists and African ritual and ceremonial practices). On his work Thom comments, ‘For me the power of art