Personal Portraits

Cape artist Eleanor Turvey uses collage to add layers of meaning to her portraiture

- Ann Gadd

Where did your love of art originate?

I’ve always loved art-making. I went to a new school when I was 15, which had a fabulous art department and a wonderful teacher. It was in her class that I was first given proper brushes and acrylic paints. One day, she took me aside and said to me, “If I could paint like you, I would do nothing else.” Those words have stayed with me ever since.

You’ve been described as one of South Africa’s most innovative collage artists. Why collage?