Mary Wafer

Mary Wafer has collaborated with David Krut Workshop (DKW) since 2005 with a focus on monotypes and etchings. In 2011, she returned to make a series of intaglio prints resulting in ensuing exhibitions at David Krut Projects (DKP) Johannesburg and Cape Town, entitled Countermeasures. In the same year, Wafer visited New York where she made 20 monotypes at Robert Blackburn Print Studio with master printer Phil Sanders.

In 2012, she again worked at DKW, this time collaborating not only with the printers but also with fellow artist Quinten Edward Williams. This work at DKW led to a solo show, called Mine, at DKP Johannesburg in2013, and a duo exhibition with Williams, aptly titled In Conversation.

In 2015, she had her third solo exhibition with DKP: Ninth Floor. It was the product of further collaboration between Wafer and the team at DKW.

Mary Wafer was born and grew up in Durban. After three years of study at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, she relocated to Johannesburg and completed her advanced diploma in fine art at Wits University. Wafer’s father Jeremy Wafer is a practicing South African artist which most certainly contributed to Wafer’s choice to pursue a career in the arts. She travelled to London and Copenhagen where she worked as a gallery administrator and artist. By 2005, Wafer had returned to South Africa to embark on her Masters of Art in fine art. Wafer’s earlier works draw on images related to movement and transport; she explored issues of exclusion and marginality in relation to the notion of space. Through paintings of alienating peripheral structures, such as freeways and bridges, focusing on the architectures of transport and mobility, Wafer explores ideas of structural marginality and exclusion in a contemporary South African context. In her prints, Wafer takes structures of corridors and lighting tracks, often seen on basement parking ceilings, as inspiration. By homing in on metaphorically isolated psychological spaces, Wafer explores notions of structural marginality and exclusion in contemporary South Africa. Depictions of peripheral structures, such as freeways and bridges, constitute this angle of exploration. In her work, Wafer uses lines of perspective to create the sense of a space exceeding the limits of the page. She is careful not to over-work a print, leaving it up to the viewer to “complete” the image within our imaginations. The slightest suggestion of an extended space can be enough information to grasp the image and its underlying social commentary.

Artworks

Berea Road

Reflex Blue (ed. of 10)

Misregistered (ed. of 20)

Facade (ed. of 20)

Johannesburg Central Police Station (ed. of 20)

Veneer II (ed. of 10)

Room 1008, John Voster Square, 15 February 1977 (ed. of 20)

Spots 1 (ed. of 15)

Spots 9 (ed. of 15)

Spots 10 (ed. of 15)

Glare (ed. of 20)

Slice (ed. of 20)

Slip (ed. of 20)

Untitled (Circle) (ed. of 20)

Basement I

Basement III

Basement IV

First Cut

Track 4

Track 6

Corridors 3

News

Roxy
Jun. 1, 2018

DKW’s Canadian intern Lacia Vogel

My passion for printmaking began in 2009. I was studying fine arts at UBC Okanagan in Kelowna, BC, Canada, and...

admin
May. 18, 2018

Print of the Month (May 2018) Mary Wafer

This month's print of the month was chosen by our current intern Sarah Hunkin, a student at the Wits University....

David Krut Workshop
Aug. 8, 2016
- David Krut Print Workshop
- David Krut Projects Arts on Main

What’s new at DKW? A display of prints and paintings curated by our staff 2016-08

08/08/16 Blogger: Jessie Cohen (JC) There is a new display of work on the walls at DKW - a combination...

It’s “gym time” as work gets physically demanding but strong backs and weak minds won’t cut it at AOM…

18.11.15 Blogger & photographer: Jessie Cohen At this time of year, printers at AOM are wrapping up projects from 2015....

David Krut Workshop
Nov. 13, 2015
- Arts on Main
- David Krut Print Workshop

“In this profession, a millimetre matters”: Printing with precision at AOM

It’s another scorching day at AOM and printer Kim-Lee Loggenberg is in the workshop bright and early, ready to roll....

Negiste Johnson
Jul. 30, 2015

This week at David Krut Workshop

The week at DKW has been effervescent. With new works being produced for multiple artist’s simultaneously. Stephen Hobbs has been...

Studio Visit with Mary Wafer

The DKP team recently paid a studio visit to artist Mary Wafer. Mary was kind enough to narrate the team...

Luke Crossley
May. 8, 2013
- walkabout

Mary Wafer Walkabout – Saturday 11 May

Please join us on Saturday 11 May at 11h00 when Mary Wafer will be hosting a walkabout through her exhibition,...

The Undertones of Marikana – Mary Wafer: “Mine” Exhibiton Review

By Bronwyn Law- Viljoen. Published in the Mail and Guardian, 26 April 2013. [caption id="attachment_25399" align="alignnone" width="640"] "Waiting" (2013)[/caption] No...

Daniel Hewson
Apr. 11, 2013

Installation Images – In Conversation: Quinten Williams & Mary Wafer

In Conversation: Quinten Williams & Mary Wafer opened at David Krut Projects, Cape Town. Below are a series of installation...

Luke Crossley
Nov. 22, 2012

Mary Wafer and Quinten Williams at David Krut Print Workshop, Arts on Main

In preparation for her exhibition in early 2013 at David Krut Projects, Jan Smuts, Mary Wafer has begun working on...

Untitled: DKW Summer Show (5 November 2011 – 21 January 2012)

The David Krut Projects Summer Show for 2011 features artworks from a wide selection of artists, most of whom have...

Juliet White
Oct. 6, 2011

Guillotine by Lisa Jaffe: Official Launch 29 October 2011

Lisa Jaffe is proud to announce the official opening of...

Luke Crossley
Sep. 17, 2011
- First Cut
- Johannesburg Art Fair 2011

David Krut Projects at Joburg Art Fair 2011

David Krut Projects will be showcasing work by Bruce Backhouse, Gail Behrmann, Deborah Bell, Bronwen Findlay, Claire Gavronsky, Joseph Hart, Stephen...

Juliet White
Aug. 20, 2011

Mary Wafer – Countermeasures exhibition opens at DK Projects Cape Town

Mary Wafer's solo exhibition "Countermeasures" will be opening at the Cape Town, Montebello Design Centre space, today. The exhibition, under...

Daniel Hewson
Jul. 20, 2011

IMPRINT: Selected Editions and Works on Paper, Installation Images

David Krut Projects is pleased to present IMPRINT, a selection of editions and works on paper by local and international...

Juliet White
May. 20, 2011

Mary Wafer at Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in NYC

Mary Wafer has recently returned from a trip to New York where, amongst many other things, she spent some time...