Women's work, kitsch and a lost paradise

There’s a trail of gold glitter leading up the steps to the front door of Gina Waldman’s Melville home. In her studio, striking new works are propped up against the wall and lie on tables and chairs in various stages of production. “I feel like I’m on fire right now, burning with creative energy,” she says. 

One of the country’s most distinct artists, Waldman is recognised for her unique utilisation of “women’s craft” like tapestry, embroidery and weaving and collage. “I’m also interested in how seemingly perfect moments, objects and relationships are constructs set up to create a seamless illusion,” explains Waldman. 

Recurring motifs in her work include excess, collecting, consumerism and an obsessive, claustrophobic aesthetic using kitsch paraphernalia.  She says, “I’m fascinated by the philosophy of kitsch in terms of value, decoration, excess, nostalgia and perfection.” “Poor taste” materials such as glitter; fake gold  and artificial silk flowers represent obscene beauty, symbolising the ideal. Bright colours and quirky media expose the artifice of consumerism while also taking aim at society's notions of high art.

Since completing her Masters in Fine Arts in 2003, Waldman’s numerous solo shows  have included those at the Bell Roberts Gallery, Obert Contemporary, Standard Bank gallery as well as many group shows locally and internationally including the recent Women’s Work group show at  Iziko South African National Gallery. After taking a sabbatical from making art full time to run her own fashion label, Waldman is now pushing herself firmly out of her comfort zone.

She has always questioned the belief that women favour pretty and decorative art and the notion that sentimental emotions are linked to femininity and weakness. Waldman herself discovered deep reserves of strength and resilience after a blood disorder left her with kidney failure — she now has a chronic but manageable condition.

As with much of her earlier work, Waldman’s new collection, Paradise Lost leaves the viewer transfixed, drawn into the complexity of the work. The process entails hunting down vintage tapestries of landscapes, people, inanimate objects and animals, and kitsch items and “overworking” them to excess with layer upon layer. Threads, seams and pins are brought to the surface instead of remaining unseen.

The artist aims to elevate and celebrate the devalued relic. The re-creation is often uneasy, physically taxing and yet enjoyable. “My satisfaction comes from exposing the exertion behind the work,” says Waldman. 

A sense of nostalgia, a longing for a time of purity and authenticity, pervades. Titles such as Idyll serve as a yearning, a desire  for the romanticised past. But it’s also an allusion to the inevitability of death, invoking the dark contradictions of John Milton’s Paradise Lost. 

Other collections  in progress include Souvenir consisting of reworked vintage autograph books; Maps which explores the concept of borders and boundaries; Curiosity Boxes a compulsive collection of the foreign and the exotic and  the whimsical Seascapes/Naturalia that evokes the wonder, beauty and pull of the wild. “I really feel like I am on the right path. I get constant signs and so much synchronicity and opportunities that are unfolding,” she says.

Much of the new work is selling before she can show it, but this year Waldman hopes to be exhibiting at art fairs and galleries. “Art is not always just about what you make but also about who you are. My aim is to constantly challenge myself. This is my mantra at the moment.”

ginawaldman.co.za