Andrew Mogridge

Andrew Mogridge was born in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa in 1969. After obtaining an undergraduate diploma in Graphic Design at the Port Elizabeth Technikon, Mogridge completed an honours degree at Walter Sisulu University, majoring in painting and later going on to lecture at his alma mater. Mogridge plied his craft in the advertising industry, before opening his own design studio. Mogridge currently practices full-time as a fine artist, specialising in ceramics and painting.

“As a multimedia artist, I play to the strengths of each medium. The immediacy of drawing, the directness of painting, the iteration and editioning of printmaking and the temporality of film and music. Canvas rots, paper fades, and music falls out of fashion. As a medium, ceramics has one notable property, that of durability.  Each piece has the potential to last a few thousand years by which time the ideas of ownership or provenance are lost and meaning itself loses traction to history.

“I embrace the absurd and value the power of impulse over preconception. With the help of acerbic humour, I explore themes of power, violence, and the farce of authority. My process is characterised by an approach that invites the unexpected and takes full advantage of unhappy accidents. Using titles and phrases I attempt to satisfy our innate craving for meaning. Words, no matter how banal or disfigured, are comforting and familiar. Each new work is given a title, a sort of christening, that I immediately uncouple from any associated meaning, thereby rendering any subsequent attempts at

explanation impractical.

“As my subject, I work with figurative and literal archetypes on the highly activated sculptural surfaces. The risk and uncertainty of the process adds yet another layer to the already chance-laden nature of the work. Ultimately, I invite viewers to relax and enjoy a dose of acerbic humour without feeling the pressure of seeking deeper meaning.”