ISABELLE DU TOIT

Du Toit’s artistic inspiration comes directly from her personal observations, experiences and feelings regarding the world we live in today. Her work is essentially about compassion, empathy and universal inter-connectedness; hence a recurring theme in her work concerns humankind’s encroachment on Nature and how the environment we have created for ourselves impacts us and all other species to which we are inescapably linked, physically as well as emotionally. She often explores modern isolation and loneliness. ‘Ultimately, I think it important to leave sufficient room for the viewer’s own interpretation’, she says.

Artist’s Statement

My meticulous depictions of mostly solitary animals ask the viewer to consider the plight of nature in the face of man's encroachment. With my detailed paint handling, combined with an astute attention to the nuances of chiaroscuro, I hope to create a look and feel that is unique. I use a minimalist approach as a re-action to the bombardment of useless and meaningless images and noise generated by the media.

I hope to bring some kind of order and calm to reflect on what is really important and meaningful in life. For me, realism and simplicity have a direct link to truth and honesty.

My work often addresses very serious contemporary concerns but I also want to convey hope, humor, and optimism. My aim is not to harass the viewer, nor do I want to state the obvious threat to the animal's habitat destruction too blatantly. I prefer to make my point subtly and quietly in the hope that the lack of aggression that is normally linked to that subject will give pause for a deeper kind of reflection on the problem.

The emptiness in most of my backgrounds is a reflection on the increasingly isolated and selfish life that modern society has created and portrays loneliness as a human condition as well as our "disconnect" with nature.

I sign my work 'Rouaud' in memory of my grandmother.