Art.b & Unisa: Ten Artists, One ConneXion

Art.b and Unisa present ConneXion, a graduate exhibition celebrating fresh perspectives, bold ideas and the next generation of artists. It runs from 17 October to 6 November 2026.

 

The title comes from the Latin connexio, meaning to bind or tie together. The “X” marks where two lines cross, and the knot in the cord. Drawing on Ursula K. Le Guin, curator Laurette de Jager frames art-making as a way of gathering what is beautiful and meaningful into a container, like a net or a story.

 

Ten artists share deeply personal stories, from the burdens placed on Black girlhood to the slow unravelling of a marriage. Together, they explore identity, vulnerability, belonging and the magic of art-making.

“Each of these visual stories is a knot in the net, and together they hold what connects us to one another, to memory and to the land.” Laurette de Jager

 

Meet the artists

Brigitte Stanford: The Stability of an Unperceived Identity
Using fragmented environmental portraits of a friend in meaningful landscapes and in her bedroom, Brigitte asks whether identity is steadier when shaped by our relationship with the natural world rather than by the gaze of others. The final works are left out in the elements to crease, stain and fade, proving identity is never fixed.

“I hope people take away a desire to truly know themselves, beyond the scrutiny and expectations of society.”

 

 

Elzette Kotze-Naidoo: Klein Jakkalsies: Love is Unravelling
Through mixed media, textile and installation, Elzette explores the gradual disintegration of a marriage, where “klein jakkalsies”, the unspoken grievances, quietly creep in. Humour and irony keep it honest.

“It gives my introverted nature the megaphone I need to communicate visually with the outside world.”

 

 

 

Hannah Hunt: The Inner Life of the Flâneuse
Hannah reimagines the female city wanderer as a woman wandering her own home, wading through laundry and circling the kitchen. Her acrylic scenes capture the lonely, in-between moments we never post online.

“An idea can come from almost anything I see or hear, whether it’s a conversation, an inside joke or a Bible verse.”

 

 

 

Martin Desiderati: The Unseen Bond
Seed forms become bodies of memory and care. Using pareidolia, our tendency to see faces in everyday shapes, Martin reveals the bond between childhood and the woman who raised him.

“Something deeply personal can become something universal without ever having been created for that purpose.”

 

 

 

Anri Du Plessis: The Nature of Attention
Anri’s oil paintings of South African flora reflect on resilience, healing, loss and changing seasons. Her canvases are stained with rooibos, hibiscus and black tea before the paint goes on.

“My goal is to move viewers from simply seeing, to attentively looking.”

 

 

 

Kate Bettesworth: The Craft Witch
Through craft, digital comics, humour and satire, Bettersworth’s work challenges the male gaze on women by reimagining the witch as a feminist and spiritual figure, with art-making itself as a form of magic.

“It starts with lots of research, writing and conceptual brainstorming, followed by visual explorations through sketches and collage.”

 

 

 

Zoku Mgoduka: I Am Just a Girl
Drawing on the fractal patterns in Xhosa women’s hairstyles, Zoku explores identity, memory and belonging, and the expectations placed on Black girlhood.

“It helps me make sense of things and feelings that I struggle to express verbally.”

 

 

 

Emma van der Walt: 
Van der walk uses Gouache and ink figures on fragile, translucent materials to present emotional sensitivity not as a weakness, but as a natural part of being human.

“Making art is one of the best ways I spend time with myself.”

 

 

 

Amber Regel
Born legally blind, Amber uses enlarged references and magnification to study details she cannot easily see, making drawing her way of seeing. Her large-scale graphite drawings follow the peony from contained bud to abundant bloom to decay, capturing what is both hard to see and destined to disappear.

“Drawing is more than representation: it is a way of seeing, understanding and holding onto moments that time would otherwise take away.”

Visit ConneXion

See the work in person at art.b until 6 November 2026.