Janet Botes (1984-) is an artist who works intuitively to express her experience of life, and her connection to Mother Earth in her art and workshops. Her work includes Land Art, Installation Art, Drawing, Painting, Mixed Media, Photography, Digital Art and Assemblage – and often involves her working just as much in the outdoors as in the studio. In her work she aims to honor the sacredness, cycles and biodiversity of the Earth.
Her first two solo exhibitions – Wild & Still: expressions of the landscape (2014) & ORGANISM (2016) hosted by StateoftheArt Gallery, Cape Town, were inspired by the landscape and species, and in April 2023 she showed a new body of work in an exhibition and outdoor event in Wilderness entitled “The Stones Speak, The Moss Whispers”.
Janet has been involved with projects and residencies that relate to art and the environment since 2009, by organizations that include Site_Specific, the Karoo Geoglyph Project, the Global Nomadic Art Project, Tankwa Artscape residency, Thupelo, and OPENLab. Her art is included in several corporate and private art collections.
Her work is inspired by a deep respect for our place within a living, breathing system with natural cycles, sacred complexity, and intelligent design. She has a varied work history that includes graphic design, environmental activism, ad hoc art gallery management and curation, project coordination, offering guided meditations, and the facilitation of art & mindfulness workshops. Her current art practice and workshop offerings are guided by:
- her own creative impulse, and a love for experimenting with different materials
- an affinity for colour and texture that inspires her creative work
- a universal need for people to become more grounded, aligned, and connected with themselves and the natural world.
- an interest in mental health in the arts, and how art can assist and facilitate healing
To find out more about her process, read and watch an interview & video by StateoftheArt gallery, themes in her work, and her artist statement.