Zach TALJAARD (b. 1978)
BIOGRAPHY
Born in in Heidelberg, Zach Taljaard is a South African sculptor whose work explores the trope of masculinity. He completed his BA in Fine Arts, majoring in Sculpture, at the University of Pretoria in 2000.
Through his conceptual approach and mastery of sculptural techniques and materials, Taljaard dissects and challenges the construction of male identity, and provokes reflection on social norms and power dynamics, especially through his recent exploration of ceramics. He derives inspiration from critically rethinking personal memories and explores the dangers he might face, as a gay man, of being re-formed or deformed not only by the physical violence of, say, a soldier but by more covert ‘normative’ social pressures.
For Con/front, his 2006 solo exhibition at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown (now Makhanda), he created a site-specific installation around themes of masculinity and militarism in Fort Selwyn. In a series of works, called Ghost Images, he created a number of whitewashed terracotta busts. Although they are all self-portraits modelled on his own head, each one was reworked to bring out certain aspects of his character, so the busts become competing versions of himself, conversations between his various alter egos. In one duo, his head takes on the identity of a Boer, facing another version of himself as a Zulu. In an adjacent coupling, the head of the father utters commands at the head of the son. There is a female version of himself and several broken and scarred busts, one with a fist mark on the skull…
Another piece from the same show, called Tool Bar, featured a line-up of found objects from the popular toy store, Toys R Us. The choice of toys – a gun, a fighter plane, a knife, a screw driver – begs questions about the effect these aggressive objects might have on the developing psyche of a young boy.
Taljaard has participated in numerous group exhibitions and has held three solo shows. He won the Vuleka award in 2004 for his ceramic work titled A very VERY important man. His accolades include the PPC Best Sculpture Award, a Sasol New Signatures Merit Award, and recognition at the Ceramics SA Western Cape Regionals.
His work is held in significant collections such as those of Sasol, MTN, and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum.
Taljaard’s career has evolved through roles as a sculpture teacher, curator, and gallery manager, including positions at the Albany Museum and Johans Borman Fine Art. He manages Wall, at the V&A Waterfront, which specialises in South African Master investment art.