Body of work

Artist and designer Driaan Claassen delves into mental health, trauma and the mind with his explorative sculptures

- ALYX CAROLUS

Exploring mental health, along with the impact of trauma, is a recurring theme in contemporary African art. Creating new visual metaphors of neurodiversity, Cape Town-based artist and studio Reticence Design founder, Driaan Claassen, takes viewers on a often self-reflective - journey through the mind, each piece shaped by the myriad emotions he, as the artist, has felt.

His glass-walled Woodstock studio-cum-gallery (there's also an in-house workshop), painted all white, is a lightbox within which he displays his pieces. Carved locally sourced wood stands tall, taking up space in a truly regal manner, whilst elsewhere, crystalline pieces shimmer in the sunlight.

The sculptures are emotive, striking and their narratives are open ended, seemingly left up to you, the viewer, to fill in the gaps. Driaan's catalogue shifts from deep and dark tones to works lacquered in bold, bright colours. A self-taught artist with a background in design - the move towards his current work has taken honesty, vulnerability and a frank exploration of trauma-you'd be right to call these pieces cerebral.

Central to Driaan's practice is how materials are able to shapeshift and embody new traits while providing a cathartic experience for both artist and viewer.

At a glance, there are works that feel almost anatomical while others look like they were carved by nature itself.

You're a self-taught artist and work with a variety of mediums, from wood to copper - can you elaborate on the journey that led to Reticence Design?