Interview
Eben Beukes
Eben Beukes was born in Cape Town in 1998, and is a self-taught artist who has been drawing ever since he can remember.
He matriculated from High School Jan Van Riebeeck in 2016. During his high school career, he never really had the time to pursue his art. In 2017 he had two operations on his hips which had him in bed, and on crutches for most of the year. He started with his first hyper-realistic drawing in 2018.
He strives to celebrate life! He searches for and explores the marks left by the world on people and the marks people leave on the world, the innocence of new life, the wondrous architecture of our time, and our connection to the earth and to each other.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I am just an ordinary 23 year old with a gift of drawing, living a big dream that is slowly evolving and becoming my reality. I have always had a passion for art, being the thing I enjoy most during my years at school. I wanted to pursue art immediately after matriculating, but I had two grueling hip operations in 2017. The smallest tasks were almost impossible, forcing me to use this time – an hour or two a day – to practice my drawing techniques and pushing my capabilities. After successfully completing a small piece of an eagle, I was inspired to spread my wings – officially beginning my journey in 2018 as a professional artist.
Three larger artworks were created in 2018. Two were exhibited at the Bright Street Gallery in Somerset West, landing me on the front cover of South African Artist Magazine.
A few weeks later, my family and I were walking around one of Cape Town’s main tourists' attractions, the V&A Waterfront. I spotted a gallery called the Art@Africa Gallery. Located on a very popular spot, it is ideal for tourist attraction – a dream for any artist. Having a closer look at the works being exhibited, and taking its location into consideration, I knew it was my goal to exhibit in such a gallery one day.
To make this super crazy story a bit shorter – because of a friend meeting with a friend, meeting with a family relative – I received a phone call two weeks later. An agent from a gallery in Cape Town asked me to meet up for coffee and a chat. Upon viewing my work, he gave me the opportunity to be represented by his gallery which I happily took. Continuing our conversation about art and the gallery, he mentioned it was in the V&A Waterfront – the exact one my family and I walked past a few weeks earlier! This was just the craziest thing that could have happened to me!
After just two months of being represented by the Art@Africa Gallery, sales came in from all around the world – Canada, Europe, America, China, and more. I am still being represented by the Art@Africa Gallery, and my career is evolving constantly, supporting my dream of becoming a professional artist. I am forever grateful.”
“With the realism of my sketches, I strive to give vivid life to a thought or a concept that tells a never-ending story. A moment that grabs your imagination and compels it to transcend the fleeting into the enduring.”
What does your work aim to say? Does it comment on any current social or political issues?
“My goal is to always have a gripping and meaningful story behind my art. To keep the viewer wondering, and creating a conversation between people is very important to me. My art touches topics ranging from current political, personal, and environmental issues – good and bad – that we as humans experience on a day-to-day basis in the world we live in. I strive to celebrate life. I search and explore for the marks left on the world by people, and the mark the world leaves on its people. There is beauty in everything and inspiration is everywhere.
I want people to take a closer look at the world around them. To discover the stories hidden in those captured moments. To make them treasure life on this beautiful earth, and the precious thing called time. Hands are a recurring theme in my work – they are very precious to me. Every person has their own unique pair of hands that tell their story. With every mark, dot, scar, wrinkle, and dent – they tell about the life we have lived.”
Which current art world trends are you following?
“I wouldn’t describe my genre and themes as following any trends; rather exploring hyper-realism techniques alongside countless artists around the globe. Making use of charcoal as a medium, I use these techniques whilst adding a surrealistic twist, giving them a slight edge with an invitation to conversation. Combining the usage of large-scale hands with other objects, bending the rules of realism, and creating something strange yet beautiful, I aim to tell endless stories of the people around us. Yes, there are artists who use similar techniques, but I believe my art tells amazing stories not just to be told, but to show people how I see the world around me and understand the bigger picture called life.”
“A good narrative carries so much more weight than just the artwork alone.”
Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?
“Planning is very important – narrative and artwork-wise. My planning includes rough sketches, model arrangements, object scouting, lighting set-ups, test shoots, editing, and writing a narrative. As I walk around, I take inspiration from the little things I see, tucking them away all safely in my notebook while waiting to be brought to life. The planning process will differ according to the work being created, but they all have my undivided attention. After completing a work, it takes about one to two weeks to have my next idea up and running, ready to start with. These two weeks give me a small breather in between each work to prevent burnout allowing me to be rested and ready to bring my next piece to life.”
What process, materials, techniques, etc., do you use to create your artwork?
“To create what you see on paper, I put my photography skills to good use. Making my own photographs, I want to create work that is true to who am I and see it through the viewfinder of my camera to bring my imagination to life. Starting as an amateur, my lighting setup included a cellphone flashlight, but now I use studio lights and professional photography equipment. Photography-wise, I have a background in photographing and editing. These skills help me with the creative process and creating a visual representation of my imagination.
After I have made my photographs, Photoshop is my friend; adjusting them until I am satisfied with my final work. My equipment when drawing includes woodless charcoal, and PITT oil based charcoal pencils on Fabriano Accademia paper. Being that charcoal is my main medium, my erasers are the most important tool in my process, helping to take away when including detail, rather than drawing in details. Eighty percent of my artwork's detail is created by the usage of my erasers, the rest following with the use of my oil-based pencils. It’s a strange process, but it works like a charm.
Many people ask where on the paper I start with such enormous artworks. My simple answer is: anywhere! Where ever you feel most excited to start – you start! Sometimes it is best to work from right to left, being that I am right-handed, it helps to prevent smudging. Although, protecting your work the right and safe way, it doesn’t matter from which side you start drawing because charcoal can be a very messy and unforgiving medium.”
What does your art mean to you??
“ My art is the opportunity I have to show people around the world how I see the world through my own eyes. Not just to make use of, and show my drawing skills and technique, but to give people the chance to get inside my thoughts.
We are all uniquely different in not just looks, but also in the way we act and react relating to our own thoughts about the world, our surroundings, and current situations. We will never understand the human brain or another’s thoughts. But, I give the viewer the smallest snippet of my thoughts and personality.
It gives me the opportunity to tell stories, bring notice to something that hits close to home, and bring awareness to good or badly related topics. Some might find it simple, some might find it beautiful. Having people relate to my narrative is the biggest achievement I can ask for - having people appreciating not just the art is self, but the story it tells!
My mother always tells me, if you do something you love, you never work a day in your life. This is the reason my art is so dear to me, and I am forever grateful to have the opportunity to follow my dreams while doing what I love. To see how far I have come and what I have achieved only excites me for the future ahead.”
What’s your favorite artwork and why?
“This is a super hard question because I love each work for different reasons! Being too hard to choose, I have three artworks that stand out for me.
Based on the narrative Desideratum – Desideratum portrays my career, and how privileged I am doing what I love. In this work, I aimed to show my experience thus far perusing my art dream. When you dream big and work hard you can achieve anything, no matter how big – or small – the dream is, anything is possible. You will experience tough and good times, but the choice is yours: will you hide the dark side of your moon, keeping it to yourself, or will you choose to show it, embrace it for what it is, and know that every low is accompanied by a high. All you have to do is to push through and you will prevail.
Technique and execution wise Momentous and Genesis are the chosen ones – Momentous is the most successful artwork portraying water. I am in awe every time I have the opportunity to view it personally. It shows what I am capable of and is a different type of hype when I see it for what it is.
Lastly, Genesis. Genesis is the first detailed full-body portrait I included in surrealism. This work inspired many new ideas alongside expanding my imagination, inspiring me to include more detailed full-body portraits. Each time I finish a new work, the chances of it being my new favorite are accurate, the reason being that my skills improve with each mark I make. In every new art piece I create, there is something new I have never drawn before. This pushes my limits and comfort zone, expanding my boundaries, always surprising myself every time by what I have created. I can tell you that is the best feeling, not to mention the excitement when the work gets sold!”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I have been part of many successful group exhibitions over the years, including –
On Thin Ice, Art@Africa, Cape Town, V&A Waterfront, currently showing;
Whale Song, Art@Africa, Hermanus, 2021;
Home Is Where Art Is, Zeitz Mocaa, Cape Town, 2020;
Blue Dot, Art@Africa, Cape Town, 2020;
So Much Talent In Our Country, Art@Africa, Cape Town, 2020;
Water Wars, Art@Africa, Cape Town, 2019;
Turbine Art Fair, Johannesburg, 2019.A national group exhibition upon entering the Sanlam Portrait Awards 2021 where I was chosen among the top 100: Sanlam Portrait Awards – Top 100, Rupert Museum, Stellenbosch, 2021.
The exhibition that is the most memorable, standing out amongst the rest, was my first solo exhibition – Generations, Art@Africa, Cape Town, V&A Waterfront, 6 June 2019 – where my artwork titled Fragile was revealed. This was my first solo exhibition, and only being in the art industry for a year, I had low expectations. Over a hundred people attended to experience a reveal of my work and exceeded my expectations! Never could I imagine that a young artist like myself would attract this many people and couldn’t be more proud. It is all thanks to the Art@Africa team supporting me from the get-go, building my brand. I will be forever grateful to work with such amazing people.
The Cape Town Art Fair is coming up in November – This Is Art, Cape Town, 26 to 28 November – where my work will be exhibited whilst I will be there live, in action, and creating art.”
Website: www.artatafrica.art/blogs/our-artists/the-human-art-of-eben
Instagram: @ebenbeukes_art
Other: Youtube
