Bronwen Findlay

A striking new series of prints by Bronwen Findlay combines an instinct for bold designs and colours with a fascination for ordinary domestic objects. Findlay has always collected and painted cups, saucers, doilies, tray cloths, and other objects but recently she has been inspired by the woollen blankets found at trading stores near the Lesotho border. The designs on the blankets date to the 1940s and contain elements such as military insignia, the Victoria Cross, springbok heads, and phrases like �Made in England.� Most of the blankets include the vertical red stripes that mark them as traditional Basotho garments of the kind given to children at birth and treasured for life.

The blankets constitute a fascinating cultural history of the interactions between Basotho tradition and colonial influence. Findlay is intrigued with the ways in which these iconic South African images and colonial motifs have found their way into the Basotho design vernacular.

Working with printers at David Krut Print Workshop, Findlay has produced compelling etchings, monotypes, and linocuts that make use of and extend the symbolism of the images on the Basotho blankets. The work will be featured in an exhibition at David Krut Arts Resource, opening on 19th February and running through 19th March 2005.

Bronwen Findlay has an MAFA from the University of Natal. She has taught at the University of Durban, Westville and Wits University, and is currently teaching at the University of Johannesburg. She has had several solo exhibitions and has participated in local and international group shows. Her work is represented in private and public collections. In 2002 she was nominated for a Vita Award and in 2004 received a Brett Kebble Merit Award for A Painting about a Bedspread.