Strauss & co - 15 February 2020, Cape Town

85 THE PROPERTY OF A COLLECTOR LOTS 53–74 68  NORMAN CATHERINE SOUTH AFRICAN 1949– Head Hunter signed and dated 1993; impressed with the title on a clear label on the reverse mixed media on board 116 by 97 by 7cm, in the artist’s frame R200 000 – 300 000 Rich in the primary colours, the two-dimensional surface moves in playfulness with a collage of faces, body parts and DNA particles juxtaposed agitatedly within the profile of the Head Hunter . This work directly relates to the multiple identity crisis happening in South Africa in the mid 1990s, “For artists this era presents an ongoing dilemma. Under apartheid, cultural identity was constricted and controlled. Now freedom to choose and re-invent identities represents South Africa’s greatest challenges”. 1 This conflict gyrates through the head, as the eye watches time go by, causing tension. This serves true to Catherine’s oeuvre of satirical, comic and idealist dark humor. 1. Hazel Friedman (2000) ‘Anima Animus Animate’ In Norman Catherine . Goodman Gallery Editions, Johannesburg. Page 97.