Strauss & co - 15 February 2020, Cape Town

89  DIANE VICTOR SOUTH AFRICAN 1964– Three Fates signed and dated 2011 twice ash drawing on paper 191 by 270cm R350 000 – 500 000 EXHIBITED University of Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, Diane Victor: Ashes to Ashes and Smoke to Dust , December 2011 to January 2012. In this work Diane Victor employs the iconic, mythological image of the Three Fates who control the thread of life. Re-imagined here as domestic workers, she disrupts deeply embedded, taken for granted perceptions and “taps into the unravelling thread of our social fabric”. 1 The Three Fates , an ash drawing originally presented at her University of Johannesburg show Ashes to Ashes and Smoke to Dust in 2012, is an example of Victor’s cutting-edge artistry and technique. The technique of using ash as a drawing medium developed from her printmaking practice. In the printing technique of aquatint, rosin dust is sprinkled onto an etching plate to create texture and tone. The ash, however, provides more lively, deeper tones and softer effects. Victor’s unique way of breaking the habits of complacent viewing presents a potentially contentious issue, in a gentle and sympathetic manner. In recognition of her international standing, Diane Victor was recently included in the authoritative publica- tion Vitamin D: New Perspectives in Drawing (Phaidon, 2005), a worldwide survey of over 100 of the most dynamic artists working in the medium of drawing. 1. Karen Von Veh (2018) ‘Diane Victor’s Upside Down World’ , in Jeanne Van Eeden (ed.) little History: Diane Victor , exhibition catalogue, Bloemfontein: University of the Free State. 107