Exhibitions

Narrative Threads 

It was with much joy that I curated and installed the third annual Art Life Stitches group exhibition, Narrative Threads at Mogalakwena Gallery. 

This year my focus was specifically on the human hand and the line, BLESS the HANDMADE from Notes for Radical Living, a poetic manifestation by Scottish actress, Tilda Swinton was paramount.

The full version of Notes for Radical Living is at the bottom.

When we create, we connect intimately with what is inside us, what is  below the outer facade. We hold beliefs, memories, thoughts and develop ideas, which are  made tangible when creating with our hands. Our inner world shapes our outer world when we create.

The very tactile quality of an object created by the human hand inspires me … its imperfections and its intimacy. For me there is a magic in making things by hand .... something sacred. 

There is deep connection between my thoughts, hands and the objects I create. I embroider, knit, stitch, sew, sketch, paint, cook, bake, garden, read and write. In making with my hands, I find inner peace in this uncertain, unpredictable, chaotic time in our world. Billions are spent on warfare and, in comparison,  little on the health and well-being of all people and our planet. Horrendous human suffering and the destruction of the natural world remain the news of the day.

It was interesting to read an article, written in 1995 by Laurence Weschler. He  refers to the idyllic scenes painted by Vermeer more than 300 years ago. The paintings, which portray a sense of peacefulness and serenity were actually painted during and after a turbulent time of religious persecutions on the European continent.  One of the reasons why many Dutch and French refugees arrived in the Cape.

The wisdom of the human hand makes the soul grow.

 Elbé Coetsee      2026

Narrative Threads II Art,Life & Stitches Exhibition 2025

Narrative Threads 

Elbé Coetsee

I thread my needle with yarn that spans the length and breadth of time and space

and invite you to join in the dialogue of humanity, fragility and healing.

I stitch and contemplate the beautiful nature of life; the flight of time; the fragmentation of tradition and cultures; the frailty of peace.

With each stitch, I thread my thoughts and emotions, as I recognise my privilege and my plight in my own life. I acknowledge and honour the plight of the aged and the children, the displaced, the disenfranchised and despairing...

I stitch for  those who are suffering injustice, neglect and pain;

I sew threads for those subjected to maltreatment, hunger and humiliation;

I knot for those living with the horrors of wars, both on-going or past;

I knit for lives bonded in human trafficking, slavery or lost in untimely death.

The materials, textures, techniques are reparative notions and include copper wires  found in most technological innovations and communications. It is also used to create destructive bombs,  threatening in times of peace or employed in wars to kill and s[e]w destruction.

Sew together with us, yarns that connect friends in chit-chat; threads that thread a dialogue between adversaries, or weave a rapport between clans, tribes and nations alike.

May the works inspire viewers to talk and care, create and repair.

"The needle is used to repair damage. It's a claim to forgiveness".

• Louise Bourgeois

Elbé Coetsee                       

2024

28 creative exploring the relationship between Humans and our Environment

Opening 30/11 @ 111Loop st.