Tamlin Blake
About:
Tamlin Blake is a mixed media artist who lives and works in Riebeek West in the Swartland. She completed her Masters in Fine Art at the University of Stellenbosch in 2001 and has exhibited extensively locally and abroad.
A large part of Blake’s art practice involves the exploration of different materials including beads, fabric and paper and pushing them past their conventional uses and boundaries. The major themes that weave themselves through her imagery are cross-cultural South African symbols of wealth, status and cultural identity and, more recently, what constitutes and underpins each individuals sense of belonging.
Blake was invited to exhibit work at Iziko Michaelis Collection, South African National Gallery (2005-06), the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum in Bratislava (2007), and Kaunas Art Biennial TEXTILE 07 in Lithuania (2007). Her work was also included in Spier Contemporary Exhibition (2008), World Expo 2010 Shanghai China and SPI National Portrait Award 2013. In 2003 she was awarded a merit prize at the Brett Kebble Art Awards and in 2011 she attended an artist’s residency at the Frans Masereel Centre in Belgium. Her collection of tapestries Altered Yarns is on permanent exhibition at the Spier Wine Estate.
Blake’s work can be found in collections including: Contemporary Collection for The New Hollard House at Villa Arcadia, The Spier Holdings Contemporary Art Collection, Iziko Art Collections (South African National Gallery), South African Breweries, Nandos (UK), University of Limerick (Ireland), Carnegie Mellon University (USA).(text and courtesy Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg)