North Gallery

Elisca du Toit
Bittersweet - a celebration of Life 

In this body of work, I delve into the profound experience of living a “Bittersweet” life.
 
To me; bittersweetness represents the awareness that joy and pain, light and dark, bitter and sweet are eternally intertwined. It also embodies an intense longing for a more perfect and beautiful world. This bittersweet existence reflects a yearning for the less visible aspects of life, a search for a realm of unseen things and time. 
 
For centuries, artists, writers, and musicians have contemplated a constant sense of longing and awe. My work captures the bittersweet delight of seeing with extraordinary vision and harnessing this perception to create a state of beauty and deeper significance in this “in-between” space. These moments can elevate you from a mundane existence to a euphoric experience.

I use architectural elements as symbols to explore hidden meanings and emotions.  Windows and doorways, for example, represent transitions from one state of being to another, akin to the movement through various stages of life, such as the journey from childhood to adulthood. The repetition of these ubiquitous elements enhances the underlying enigmatic atmosphere of the work, creating a facade of perfect order. By using repetition and patterns, I aim to achieve visual impact and a distinct identity.

My potent memories of experiences from years of traveling also inform and enrich this exploration.
 
In this latest body of work, I draw on recent travel experiences in Namibia, Venice, Florence, Perugia, and Amsterdam. I have vivid memories of walking the streets of these cities, experiencing an electrifying awareness that blended joy and sadness with a poignant awareness of the passage of time. This profound sense of beauty and longing serves as the key to unlocking an ultimate state of beauty, joy, and sadness—the essence of a bittersweet life.