Vendor Biography
Erin Mae Wallace
b. 2004 Pretoria, South Africa
BFA, The University of Pretoria, (currently in progress)
Expected Diploma, Creative Writing: Poetry, UNISA, 2025
Erin-Mae Wallace is a multi-disciplinary artist born and based in Pretoria, South Africa. She presents herself as Erin-Mae in her practice – a crossover between two distinct personalities which collaborate as a unit through constant discourse and conflict. Currently, she is studying to complete a BA in Fine Arts at the University of Pretoria.
Erin-Mae is fascinated by nature, the delicacy and complexity of human symbiosis with the natural world and its history, which stems from her Biblical upbringing and spiritual connections to Mother Nature. She is interested in themes of the cross-over between life and death, memory, identity, history and femininity. Through visual narratives which stem from her upbringing, struggles with identity and sexuality, she seeks to create in-depth dialogues between the ephemeral and eternal, the organic and constructed, the forgotten and remembered. Her work is an invitation to reflect on the cycles of existence – how we shape the world and how it in turn shapes us.
She works with both traditional media, found objects and woodcutting which can occur in monumental amalgamations of colours and styles, inspired by the work of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and surrealism. Her work depicts figures in relation to nature, portraying conflicting and deep emotions. Most prominent in her works is her use layering of 2D and 3D elements to create complexity.
“As a multi-disciplinary artist, I enjoy combining a broad spectrum of various skills, techniques and materials into what would traditionally be considered multi-media artworks. However, I instead regard each of my artworks as an individual, living organism which is constantly evolving through mutative and harmonious forces of creation and destruction. My work does not merely depict – it embodies.
The practice of using mixed media allows me to construct tactile works layered in the complexity of time and experience to bring life to my artworks. I have a deep, personal connection with my materials and techniques, serving the purpose of enhancing the narration of my pieces. Each piece is a negotiation between control and spontaneity, precision and chaos, informed by materials I have available at the time.
By incorporating found objects or repurposed material to traditional paintings, drawings or sculptures, I give new life to discarded remnants, highlighting the beauty of the overlooked. Organic matter, like flowers and foliage, are vital to my practice, acting as vessels for memory, transformation and a lifeline to Mother Nature.
My use of woodcutting is both traditional and experimental, treating the surface as a site of excavation, a way to reveal hidden histories within the grain. I use it to create parts which stand out from a flat surface and to create intricate frames. This allows me to carve into the material world, exposing the layers under the surface – both literally and metaphorically.
My visual language is deeply rooted in texture, contrast, colour and the interplay of organic and geometric forms. My paintings and drawings often feature intricate linework, gestural marks, and layered washes of colour that evoke both movement and stillness, with bursts of realism and abstraction. My sculptural works merge natural materials with fabricated elements, creating hybrid forms that challenge the boundaries between the living and the inanimate. I embrace imperfection, decay, and the passage of time, incorporating natural weathering processes into my work to emphasize the transient beauty of existence ultimately to create what is known as Ephemeral or temporary art – only produced to exist for a period of time, like me, and eventually be reclaimed by nature.
Ultimately, my work weaves together multiple disciplines into a cohesive visual language that speaks to universal themes of transformation, resilience, connection, life and death. Through my art, I strive to create pieces that not only tell stories but also invite the viewer to engage with their own histories, memories, and relationships with the natural world.”
Erin-Mae has been the recipient of two prestigious art awards for the value of her artistic practice. In September of 2023, she received the Den Hertog trophy from Afrikaans Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria (AHMP) for achieving 99% on her National Senior Certificate for Visual Arts. In May 2024, she achieved the Highest Mark in South Africa for Cambridge International AS Level Art and Design in the November 2023 Cambridge examinations and boasts with an original certificate.
Group exhibitions include exhibitions at At Next To: Apartment Hotel; Pretoria, South Africa, in April 2024, November 2024, and July 2025.