In Metamorphosis, light and darkness are no longer in opposition but in harmony, each revealing the other’s truth. Through paint, gesture, and quiet devotion, Uys and Wahl remind us that change is the essence of existence, and that beauty resides in the act of becoming itself.
Metamorphosis
convert / transFIGURE / transFORM / transMOGRIFY / transMUTE / transPOSE
A duo exhibition by Ingrid Uys and Elli Wahl
Candice Berman Gallery, Johannesburg - 8 November 2025
Transformation lies at the heart of Metamorphosis. This exhibition brings together two South African artists, Ingrid Uys and Elli Wahl, whose distinct yet deeply connected practices explore the continuous movement between darkness and light, between the act of becoming and the state of being. Through their respective visual languages, both artists meditate on the thresholds of existence, those fleeting spaces where identity, matter, and meaning dissolve and reassemble in quiet rhythm.
Uys approaches transformation through light. Her paintings on perspex, paper, and canvas capture moments of stillness that shimmer with the tension between transparency and opacity. Each layer invites reflection, holding both fragility and resilience. Guided by the ethereal imagery of wings and the translucence of sacred glass, she reimagines the feminine form as radiant and enduring. Her work speaks of metamorphosis as grace, an awakening through illumination.
Wahl’s work begins in darkness. Her canvases are charged with abstraction, gesture, and the raw immediacy of paint. From this depth, her figures and symbols slowly emerge, half seen and half felt. The recurring presence of the African dung beetle, Scarabaeus satyrus, becomes an emblem of renewal, guided by celestial constellations. In Wahl’s vision, transformation is not an escape from shadow but a conversation with it, a movement toward understanding and communion.
Together, Uys and Wahl create a dialogue of opposites that completes itself in balance. Uys moves from light toward shadow, while Wahl journeys from shadow toward light. Their works converge at the meeting point between inner and outer worlds, between fragility and endurance, between revelation and concealment. Both artists invite the viewer to witness transformation not as an end or a beginning, but as an ever unfolding continuum of being.
