LANA DE JAGER
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BIOGRAPHY
Lana de Jager emigrated from South Africa to Australia in 1998. She holds a BA Honours Degree in Advertising and Visual Communication 1994, which included fine arts and printmaking. She followed her degree with 2 years as lecturer 1995-1996 at Potchefstroom University and the East London Technical College, South Africa teaching Graphic Design History & Techniques, History of Art and Still Life & Figure Drawing. For 20 years she practised Graphic Design.
CONNECTION TO BALDESSIN STUDIO
On 8 May 2017 I did a workshop with Silvi at Baldessin Studio that changed my art practice in two extraordinary ways. Firstly, she took the guesswork out of photopolymer plate development with her accomplished, scientific approach. It saved hours, materials and money, which I had been wasting a lot in my home studio. Secondly, more fundamentally, working at Baldessin Studio has given me confidence in the quality and consistency of my plate making, but also in my work as an artist. Tess and Silvi nurture an intelligent, joyous and nourishing creative environment – a rarity! - Lana De Jager
ABOUT THE ARTWORK
Modern civilisation feels like an oxymoron. Within the broader culture of our civilisation, sub-cultures can serve as havens from cruelty, but are sometimes places of even more pressure. These pressures are applied in subtle/not-so-subtle ways within family, work or social groups.
We face a daily negotiation of the rules and structures within our sub-culture to ensure we fit somewhere in this civilisation. Combine that with our individual experience of our upbringing as well as a personalised relationship with social and corporate media and it becomes clear just how complex our environments are.
Privately, we have an ‘internal civilisation’, the ways we believe the world works, fits together and what refinement looks like. It has become increasingly difficult to identify non-essential behaviour proposed as essential by our sub-culture. We take part in rituals that might ultimately exploit us.
