Eloise

I’m a South African artist, photographer, poet and creative educator based in Cape Town. I’ve always been drawn to the places where different forms of creativity meet. My work moves between photography, painting, collage, digital art and poetry, bringing these different elements together to create layered, dreamlike pieces that sit somewhere between reality and imagination. My fascination with photography began when I was nine years old, when I was given my first camera. Over the years, photography became much more than simply capturing what was in front of me. I became fascinated by light — particularly the fleeting, almost magical moments when sunlight catches dust, mist, clouds or water and transforms an ordinary scene into something extraordinary. That fascination with light remains at the heart of my work. I often begin with my own photographs, particularly seascapes, skies, clouds and landscapes, and then build from there. I might add acrylic or watercolour, hand-drawn marks, textures, collage elements or digital manipulation. I layer, remove, distort, reshape and rework until the original photograph becomes something entirely new. My current work often explores femininity, transformation, vulnerability, resilience and regeneration. Women, flowers, oceans, butterflies, crystals and other elements from the natural world appear repeatedly, becoming symbols rather than simply subjects. I’m interested in the things we carry beneath the surface like our memories, wounds, strengths, dreams and capacity to transform. Poetry has become another layer of that process. Many of my artworks are accompanied by original poems, allowing me to explore the emotional world behind the image in a different language. Art is not simply about creating something beautiful. I want my work to make you pause. To stir a memory, evoke an emotion or make you look twice. I love the possibility that an artwork can reveal something different each time you return to it. I’m also passionate about the role creativity can play in our lives. Alongside my own practice, I facilitate creative workshops and enjoy helping others discover that creativity isn't something reserved for “artists”. It is a way of exploring, expressing, connecting and sometimes finding parts of ourselves that we didn't know were there. After many years of creating, exhibiting and experimenting across different mediums, I’m still most excited by the same thing that fascinated me as a child: the moment when an idea, an image, a colour or a little piece of light suddenly becomes something more. That is where the magic happens. I’m also proud to guide creative voices as Pixlyne’s Community Coordinator and Editor-in-Chief of PixlynePulse Magazine.