Penny Siopis
Born in the small town of Vryburg, South Africa, Penny Siopis (1953 - ) now lives in Cape Town. She has a Master of Fine Arts degree and honorary doctorate from Rhodes University. She has taught fine arts at the Natal Technikon in Durban, been a lecturer at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, a visiting professor in Fine Art at Umeå University in Sweden and is currently an honorary professor at Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town. Siopis' work encompasses painting, film, video, photography and installation and irrespective of the subject matter, is characterised by the passing of time and her interest in what she calls the ‘poetics of vulnerability’. Locating her practice within a post-colonial context, Siopis continues to reflect on the complex intersections of collective and individual history and the construction of memory. Her early interest in feminist aesthetics has shaped her later explorations of violence, shame, sexuality and, more recently, grief. Her work has been shown around the world and has been included in many museum, private and corporate collections. Siopis has also been awarded residencies and fellowships in Greece, USA, Sweden, Italy, UK, France and South Africa.