Ann Gadd Wildlife Art
Series: ‘Give it Horns’
I started exploring the African bush. First of all because I love road trips and secondly I enjoy space. As a result, I have traveled widely in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. As a result, I have become a keen wildlife photographer. I like to capture the feel of Africa in my work.
Finding an old book of African symbols, I began to incorporate them into my paintings. I believe art carries a message into the hanging environment. Certainly I would like this message to be one of hope and inherent goodness – as if the painting itself is embodying this cry for hope – a voice in the wilderness/wildness.
Series: “Meanwhile in Africa…”
The original wildlife the series has evolved into a looser direction.
I take my experience of living in Africa’s disappearing wildness and blend it with iconic commercialism. Consequently, I see the two elements fighting for dominance, with no real winner emerging – MacDonald’s vs Umngqusho. Painting this dynamic then becomes a therapeutic way of healing the paradoxical forces of creativity and destruction at play within myself. As a result, I wanted to show subtle and sometimes funny nuances between that which was and that which we have created. Above all, how in freeing ourselves, in some sense we have become enslaved, this time by commercialism.
I work to build up a painting, adding layers and more symbols each time. Finally, I then start the process of slowly stripping away – to create a new ‘landscape.’ Consequently, it can bear little resemblance to the underlying image. Like the books I write, it involves adapting and editing – a constant process of evolving until the result feels (almost) balanced.
See more available to purchase Ann Gadd wildlife art here:
Or contact for commissions:
Galleries representing Ann Gadd art:
- Franschhoek Art House – Franschhoek
- Cape Gallery – Church Street Cape Town
- Dante Art Gallery – Somerset West
- Art @ Constantia – Groot Constantia
- Robertson Art Gallery – Robertson
- Blou Donki Gallery – Clarens FS
- Clock Tower Gallery at the Waterfront Clocktower Building, Cape Town
- Alice Art Gallery – Gauteng
