daya heller
daya heller's work explores the binaries of life, through the human form and experience, in the tactile mediums of sculpture, drawing & painting. her solo exhibition in 2015, 'eros logos - of sex & god', explored integration of duality through yin/yang, male/female, birth/death, physical/spiritual binaries... returning the physicality of the body to the realm of the sacred, reclaiming the natural human form from religion and consumerist media. her public sculpture installation at afrikaburn trickster 2014, 'lilith and the garden of eden', included a 5m high ‘ouroboros’ (iconic symbol of a serpent eating its tail), represented a new version of creation mythology, focusing on the power and force of nature, fertility, an eternal conversation between male and female, and cycles of life and death. her work is intuitive and process based, exploring the tactile, unique qualities of material in each medium. material processes and methods have included welded steel framework, modelled form in cement, as well as clay and wax for mould making and casting. drawings explore a balance between line work and naturalism, and paintings explore oils on wood. sculpted figures are often life size, with metaphoric intervention in the body - the internal structure often revealed, creating a dialogue between inner and outer realities. bodies are naked, returning to the contemporary nude. daya heller graduated from michaelis school of fine art, uct in 2006, with a bachelor of arts degree majoring in sculpture.since then she applied her creative talents over a diversity of fields ranging from: festival art, community projects, public performance, mask-making and giant puppetry skills-development workshops - contracted through unima sa and infecting the city; public sculptural installations for events such as ct carnival and afrikaburn; sculpting and props fabrication for film, theatre and interior design industries; to portraiture, independent commissions, and the production of specific artworks for group shows, supplying various galleries and design stores throughout the country.her work has been published on two front covers: mango airlines inflight mag, 2012 (afrikaburn artwork) and a room she designed for a boutique hotel featured on the front cover of visi in 2005. other notable publications include: a 4-page article in ‘golden arrow’ – a german / sa art culture mag 2010, and a listing in an international artist directory, ‘younger than jesus’, by new museum, new york 2009.