Description
Happy Woman, a unique bronze sculpture by Jos Steenkamp crafted in 2024, is an uplifting and graceful embodiment of pure, internally sourced joy. With a height of 22.5 cm and a weight of 2.5 kg, its slender, elegantly curving form conveys both vulnerability and strength. The bronze likely possesses a patina that enhances its organic, flowing lines, perhaps a soft greenish hue or a warm, light reflecting brown, giving the piece a vibrant, living quality. The sculpture’s upward reaching posture and the gentle suggestion of a serene facial expression speak directly to its theme. As articulated by the artist, “Living life is a vulnerable experience , trusting our vulnerability makes us free. The state of happiness is an internal beingness, a moment of complete connectedness. Happy Woman radiates this joy that transcends the external.“
The work is not about a fleeting emotion tied to circumstance, but a profound state of being, a resonant contentment that emanates from within. The fluid lines of the figure suggest an uninhibited, open quality, a visual representation of freedom achieved through self, acceptance.
The artist behind this joyful expression is Jos Steenkamp (SA 1957), whose work is deeply enriched by his parallel identity as Dr Jo Steenkamp, an eminent Clinical Psychologist based in Pretoria. Holding a doctorate in Psychology (1991), Dr Steenkamp is the originator of the ground breaking SHIP® (Spontaneous Healing Intra, systemic Process) psychotherapeutic method. For nearly four decades, he has dedicated his career to the spontaneous healing of trauma and the nuanced psycho, biological regulation of internal dis, ease. He founded The SHIP® Foundation in 2001, where he continues to serve as CEO and lead trainer, guiding many towards healing. Dr Steenkamp’s extensive experience is also shared through his five books and numerous internationally recognised articles. His return to the world of sculpture in 2021, after a 22 year period focused on developing SHIP®, was a deeply personal “coming home,” uniting his mature understanding of the human psyche, its pains and its potentials for joy, with the expressive immediacy of sculpting, a passion he has nurtured since he was sixteen.
Happy Woman can be appreciated as a beautiful artistic manifestation of the states of wellbeing and psychological freedom that Dr Steenkamp’s work with SHIP® aims to cultivate. The idea that “trusting our vulnerability makes us free” is a profound psychological truth, often explored in therapeutic settings where individuals learn that true strength lies not in impenetrable defences but in the courage to be open and authentic. The sculpture’s depiction of happiness as an “internal beingness” and “complete connectedness” resonates with the concept of self, integration and a harmonious relationship with oneself and the world, which are hallmarks of psychological health. This state of “internal beingness” is precisely what trauma can fragment, and what therapeutic processes like SHIP® seek to restore. Jos Steenkamp, the artist, sees his sculptures as born from an “intuitive interplay of the conscious and unconscious,” becoming “vessels of relational energy.”
Happy Woman extends this energy to the viewer, offering not just an image of joy, but an invitation to experience that resonance within oneself. It stands as a testament to the human capacity for profound happiness that is not dependent on external validation but arises from a deep, authentic connection to life itself, a radiant expression of inner peace and liberated spirit. It’s a celebration of the soul’s potential to achieve a joyful equilibrium, a central tenet in Dr Steenkamp’s life long pursuit of healing and human flourishing.
Artist: Jos Steenkamp (SA1957)
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