Jeannette Unite

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Jeannette Unite, artist
Jeannette Unite.jpg
NationalitySouth African
Website www.jeannetteunite.com

Jeannette Unite (born 20 January 1964) is a South African artist [1] who has collected oxides, metal salts and residues from mines, heritage and industrial sites [2] [3] to develop paint, pastel and glass recipes for her large scale artworks that reflect on the mining and industrial sites where humanity's contemporary world is manufactured. [4] [5]

Contents

Her industrial-scale mining Headgear drawings and "TERRA" paintings [6] [7] were exhibited at Museum Ostwall, Dortmund, Germany [4] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] in the reconstructed building on the site of mining headquarters for the Ruhr Valley in commemoration of the final year of underground coal mining in Germany.

Through 2014 and 2015, her research on Earth's stratigraphy with Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford University and Oxford University Museum, developed into a body of work exhibited at the Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World (CCANW), [13] Exeter University, Devon, between October 2015 and February 2016. This travelling exhibition also formed part of the United Nations' Year of Soil and the British Geological Society's Year of Mud. [14] [15] [16] [17]

Research

Unite's works reference mining heritage sourced from archives and museums. [1] [2] This includes early geological historical maps and texts that were created during the British Industrial Revolution to guide mining the coal that fueled the engines that drove modernity. [1] [5] [4]

Education and community work [18]

Unite graduated from Michaelis School of Fine Art in 1986, following 4 years of study. From 1987 to 1997, she taught printmaking and general art at Frank Joubert Art Centre, as well as teaching adult education drawing lessons & painting courses. During this time, she spent four years in correspondence with UNISA and provided art training to teachers in Nyanga, a local township area. From 2011 to2016, she taught the Workshops in Materiality course at Michaelis School of Fine Art, a series of workshops centered around communicating her own unique style of paint preparation and utilization to students. In 2014, she completed her MFA (Masters in Fine Arts) at Michaelis, receiving a distinction.

Selected exhibitions [18]

2017MEASURING MODERNITY, Borderline Art Space, Iasi, Romania [19]

COMPLICIT GEOGRAPHIES, Eclectica Contemporary, Cape Town [20]

2016

35th International Geology Congress, Invited Earth mining artist, CTICC

TERRA, Museum Am Ostwall, Dortmund, Germany

Mining Our Heritage | Bergbau Unser Erbe – Germany Preview, Abalone Hermanus Fynarts

In Plain Sight: Social Life in South Africa and Romania before and after 1989, Aparte Gallery of George Enescu Uni of Arts, Iasi & Borderline Art Space, Iasi, Romania

Out of the Fire, Into the Light, Dr Ingram Anderson, Glass exhibition, AVA, Pretoria

STRATA two-woman show with Isabel Mertz at ISart, Franscchhoek

Colori sotto il Visuvio (The Colours of Vesuvius), Il ramo d'oro Centre of Arts and Culture, Naples, Italy

2015

Bi-Centenary William 'Strata' Smith, Innovation Centre, University of Exeter

PREVIEW Bi-Centenary William 'Strata' Smith, Jo'burg Art Fair Fringe curated by Carol Brown, Mboneng, Johannesburg

LAW & ORE, Youngblood Foundation Gallery, Cape Town [21]

Between Democracies curated By Judy Peter, Karen von Vey & Richard Gregor, Constitution Hill, Johannesburg

Fear & Loss in the Industrial Karoo, Curator Katie Du Toit, Oliewenhuis, Bloemfontein | Pretoria Art Museum | Graaff-Rennet

Blowing in the Wind, curator Carol Brown, KZNSA Gallery, Durban and University of the Orange Free State, Art Museum.

Between Conceptual and Spiritual, curated by Ortrud Mulder, Abalone Gallery, part of FynArts Festival, Hermanus

2014

LAW & ORE, Abalone Gallery, Hermanus

EXTRACT, Youngblood Gallery, Cape Town and Cologne, Germany

COMPLICIT GEOGRAPHIES, Fine Arts master's degree exhibition, Michaelis Galleries, Cape Town (MFA with Distinction)

2013

HERE / THERE, UCT and WITS Masters students, Michaelis Galleries, Cape Town

HAWK Guerrilla Video Projections on land and group Art Intervention, (curator Lien Botha) Overstrand, Western Cape

2012

Residuum: Mines & Machines Installation at the Western Cape Archives & Records Service, Old Gaol, Roeland Street, Cape Town

Exhibition & Presentation: 9th IMHC International Mining History Conference, Johannesburg

HAWK Group Art Intervention, (curated by Lien Botha) Overberg, Western Cape (project printed map)

Return to the Archive, Museum Africa, Johannesburg

2011

Paradox of Plenty, Michaelis Galleries, University of Cape Town - Installation of mining archive & artist-in-residency

Mining the African Industrial Landscape: Presentation; Conflicts & Natural Resources: African Studies Conference, AEGIS, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain

Artists Visual Response to the Industrial Landscape: Presentation The Paradox of Plenty, Joburg Art Fair, September

On the Surface: The Heritage of Mines and Mining; conference University Innsbruck, Austria

Iizkhwepha Zhetu / Shaping our Minds, (curated by Phumzile Dlamini) Durban Art Gallery (catalogue)

3 Parts: More Harmony, South African, United Arab Emirates & Mozambique artists (curated by Phumzile Dlamini), Durban Art Gallery (catalogue)

Alumni Exhibition & Auction, Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town (catalogue)

2010

6 Meters Under, 4th Beijing International Art Biennale, China

The Lie of the Land: Representations of the South African Landscape,(curated by Michael Godby), Michaelis Collection, Old Town House Museum (catalogue)

TERRA: Above Below, Oliewenhuis Museum, Bloemfontein (Catalogue)

Mineral Resources and Residues of Power in the African Industrial Landscape, Presentation at ICACD (3rd International Conference on African Cultural Development) Cultural Imperatives for Development: 50 Years Post Independent Africa, Kumasi, Ghana
2009

Headgears, 9th Tashkent Biennale, Central Asia, Uzbekistan

Presentation ‘The Colonial Gaze’ Scientific conference, Urban Philosophy: Anthropological Landscape’, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Earthscars: Mining the African Landscape: Presentation AngloGold Ashanti, Turbine Hall, Johannesburg

Headgear, Inaugural solo exhibition, AngloGold HQ, Turbine Hall, JHB

Earthscars: Mining African Landscape, XLIIIrd AICA (International Association of Art Critics) Congress, The Relations Between Art and Science: Complicity, Criticality, Knowledge, Dublin Castle, Ireland

On Top of the World, (curated by Andre Vorster) (catalogue)

Earthscars, 20:20 Presentation at VANSA, Spin Street, Cape Town

2008

Remembering the Future, Western Cape Archives and Records Service, Old Gaol, Roeland Street, Cape Town

Re-structuring the Colonial, Group Exhibition, Thompson Gallery, Johannesburg

2007

Hot Earth, Artworks in response to travels to copper mines of Namaqualand. Thompson Gallery, Johannesburg

Visions of Africa, (curated by Dirk Oegema) Pretoria Art Museum

2006

HERM: Boundaries Between the Wild and Cultivated, collaboration Cumbria Institute of Arts, Ann Bryant Art Museum, East London

2005

Gunfree South Africa, Constitution Hill Auction, Johannesburg

2004

Earthscars: A Visual Mining Exploration, William Humphreys Art Museum, Kimberley

Earthscars: A Visual Mining Exploration, Mozambique National Gallery, Maputo, Mozambique

Earthscars: A Visual Mining Exploration, Irma Stern Museum Gallery, University of Cape Town

Surfacing, with Lynne Lomofsky, Unite Studio, Cape Town

2003

S.U.M., Bag Factory Residency Exhibition, Fordsburg Art Studios, Johannesburg (catalogue)

Sentences & Gestures, Zebra II, Hampstead, London

South African Artists, Old Mutual Place, London

2001

Sentences, Bell-Roberts Contemporary Gallery, Cape Town (catalogue)

Heart For Art, Red Cross Fundraiser, The Foundry, Cape Town

SA Today, Signature Artist, (curator Patrick Lagus), Fair Centre, Helsinki

Blue Danube, animated projection, edited by Koeka Stander, concert with Sibelius Orchestra, Helsinki, Finland

2000

Sentences, art animation film, 8 minutes, edited by Koeka Stander

Artichoke, Multimedia event, Sandton Civic Centre, Johannesburg

1999

Thresholds, Irma Stern Museum Gallery, University of Cape Town

Inaugural Group Exhibition, National Library of South Africa, Cape Town

Softserve, Public Eye Event, IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town

Thupela Workshop, IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town

1994

Print Triennial, Musee d’Art Contemporain Internationale, Lyon, France

1993

South Africa in Black and White, Print exhibition (curated by Ray Maylen), South African National Gallery, Cape Town

Aids Awareness, AVA Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town

Brides, (curated by Christopher Peter), Irma Stern Museum Gallery, University of Cape Town

1992

Art Now, AVA Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town

1990

Critics’ Choice, AVA Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town

1981

Young Artists’ Exhibition, 1st Prize, Kellogg's Foundation (catalogue)

Publications and texts

Awards, grants and residencies

Bibliography

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Resourceful artist digs deep | IOL" . Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 "SLOW March 2016" . Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Jeannette Unite Studio presents Law and ORE | Fine Music Radio". www.fmr.co.za. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Land Matters - a Visual Exploration of Land, Mining and Resources in South Africa" . Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Terra-Jeanette Unite". issuu. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Dortmund-Agentur, Stadt Dortmund. "Bergbaugeschichte: Jeannette Unite - "Terra" - Alle Veranstaltungen - Veranstaltungskalender - Freizeit & Kultur - Stadtportal dortmund.de". www.dortmund.de. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "GfG sponsert Ausstellung im früheren Ostwallmuseum". www.gasmessung.de. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  8. ↑ KG, Westdeutsche Verlags- und Werbegesellschaft mbH & Co. "Kunst von Jeanette Unite im alten Museum am Ostwall - Baukunstarchiv NRW". lokalkompass.de. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "Dortmunder Kulturblog: Baukunstarchiv: Jeannette Unite präsentiert Arbeiten zur Bergbaugeschichte". dortmunder-kulturblog.blogspot.co.za. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  10. ↑ "Südafrikanerin Jeannette Unite präsentiert im neuen Baukunstarchiv Arbeiten zur Bergbaugeschichte - Nordstadtblogger". Nordstadtblogger (in German). 21 March 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.[ permanent dead link ]
  11. ↑ Redaktion (18 March 2016). "Baukunstarchiv NRW: Kunst von Jeanette Unite". Westfalen erleben. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  12. ↑ "COMPLICIT GEOGRAPHIES, Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World". www.ccanw.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "Abroad (Devon - UK) | Jeannette Unite at CANNW - The South African Art Times". 30 October 2015. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  14. ↑ "Complicit Geographies | British Society of Soil Science". soils.org.uk. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "Jeannette Unite Presents Work Inspired by British Geologist William 'Strata' Smith". Design News. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "Exhibition celebrates William Smith, the "Darwin of geology" | Fine Times Recorder". www.theftr.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  17. 1 2 Unite, Jeannette. "Jeannette Unite | About The Artist". jeannetteunite.com. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  18. ↑ "Measuring Modernity | Jeannette Unite | Exhibition | Iasi, Romania | Borderline Art Space". borderlinespace.com. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  19. ↑ "Complicit Geographies | Jeannette Unite | Exhibition | Cape Town | Eclectica". eclecticacontemporary.co.za. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  20. ↑ "Review: Jeannette Unite at Youngblood Gallery - What's on in Cape Town". What's on in Cape Town. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  21. ↑ Ogbechie, Sylvester Okwunodu; Peffer, John, eds. (1 January 2007). Critical Intervention: Journal of African Art History and Visual Culture, No.1, July 2007 (First ed.). Aachron Editions.
  22. ↑ "'Subterranean meets the surface' as art" . Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  23. ↑ "Land Matters - a Visual Exploration of Land, Mining and Resources in South Africa" . Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  24. ↑ Davenport, J., Digging Deep: A History of Mining in South Africa, Jonathan Ball Publishers, Ebook Online
  25. ↑ "Paradoxical beauty of toxic minerals | IOL" . Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  26. ↑ Tim Atkinson (10 October 2014), DE KAT TV Jeannette Unite Insert (video), retrieved 8 November 2016
  27. ↑ sabc3topbilling (25 August 2014), Top Billing visits a Sandton Penthouse (FULL INSERT) (video), retrieved 8 November 2016
  28. ↑ Mkhwanazi, Katlego. "Artists who drill below the obvious". The M&G Online. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
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