Metamorphosis
convert / transFIGURE / transFORM / transMOGRIFY / transMUTE / transPOSE
A duo exhibition by Ingrid Uys & Elli Wahl
Transformation lies at the heart of this exhibition — not as a single act, but as an unfolding continuum. In Metamorphosis, two South African artists, Ingrid Uys and Elli Wahl, explore the shifting interplay between light and dark, between becoming and being, between the known and the not-yet-formed.
Uys approaches metamorphosis through light — both as subject and as material. Working in oil on perspex, paper, and canvas, her paintings hold space for reflection and shadow, transparency and opacity. Each surface becomes an embodiment of identity in flux. Inspired by the fragility of wings and the stained glass of sacred spaces, she reimagines the feminine self as luminous and resilient. Moths and butterflies recur as emblems of endurance and transformation, their wings carrying the layered stories of womanhood: mother, artist, self — creatures of light drawn through darkness.
Wahl’s paintings, by contrast, begin in darkness — in abstraction, gesture, and the unruly pull of paint. From this deep ground, she works toward illumination, revealing form through erasure, light, and the slow emergence of being. Her figures and dung beetles inhabit a state of flux: human and mythic, fragile yet enduring. The African dung beetle, Scarabaeus satyrus, guided by the stars of the Milky Way, becomes both symbol and companion — a quiet echo of Kafka’s transformation, yet also its redemption. Where Kafka’s metamorphosis isolates, Wahl’s seeks connection: an acceptance of the perpetual in-between, the beauty of becoming through shadow and light.
Together, Uys and Wahl create a dialogue of opposites — illumination and obscurity, transparency and density, fragility and persistence. Metamorphosis becomes a meditation on change itself, an invitation to see transformation not as an ending, but as a continuous unfolding — a way of being in light, and in darkness.
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Ingrid UysThe art of noticing, 2025Oil on canvas120 x 110 cm
framed 125 x 115 x 5 cm -
Ingrid UysBee to the blossom, Moth to the flame, 2025Oil on canvas110 x 90 cm
framed 113 x 93 x 4 cm -
Ingrid UysAn intricate study, 2025Oil on perspex100 x 80 cm
framed 113 x 83 x 9 cm -
Ingrid UysWhere the moonlight flickers, 2025Oil on perspex100 x 80 cm
framed 113 x 83 x 9 cm -
Ingrid UysA beautiful mind, 2025Oil on acetate and Fabriano collage100 x 70 cm
framed 113 x 83 x 9 cm -
Ingrid UysKaleidoscope, 2025Oil on perspex100 x 80 cm
framed 113 x 83 x 9 cm -
Ingrid UysImagine this, 2025Oil on acetate and Fabriano collage100 x 70 cm
framed 113 x 83 x 9 cm -
Ingrid UysPrecious little things IX, 2025Oil on perspex25 x 20 cm
framed 25.5 x 20.5 x 5 cm -
Ingrid UysPrecious little things VI, 2025Oil on perspex25 x 20 cm
framed 25.5 x 20.5 x 5 cm -
Ingrid UysPrecious little things III, 2025Oil on perspex25 x 20 cm
framed 25.5 x 20.5 x 5 cm -
Ingrid UysPrecious little things , 2025Oil on perspex25 x 20 cm
framed 25.5 x 20.5 x 5 cm -
Ingrid UysPrecious little things V, 2025Oil on perspex25 x 20 cm
framed 25.5 x 20.5 x 5 cm -
Ingrid UysPrecious little things I, 2025Oil on perspex25 x 20 cm
framed 25.5 x 20.5 x 5 cm -
Ingrid UysPrecious little things IV, 2025Oil on perspex25 x 20 cm
framed 25.5 x 20.5 x 5 cm -
Ingrid UysPrecious little things VIII, 2025Oil on perspex25 x 20 cm
framed 25.5 x 20.5 x 5 cm -
Ingrid UysPrecious little things VII, 2025Oil on perspex25 x 20 cm
framed 25.5 x 20.5 x 5 cm -
Ingrid UysPrecious little things II, 2025Oil on perspex25 x 20 cm
framed 25.5 x 20.5 x 5 cm -
Elli WahlMetamorphosis in Blue, 2025Oil on Alupanel50 x 35 cm
framed 52.5 x 37.5 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlAt the edge of becoming, 2025Oil and PVA on canvas50 x 34 cm
framed 52 x 37 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlPoised at the brink, 2025Oil and PVA on canvas50 x 34 cm
framed 52 x 37 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlCelestial Body, 2025Oil on panel91.5 x 69
framed 94 x 71 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlRe-Cover I, 2025Oil and PVA on canvas70 x 49 cm
framed 72 x 52 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlIn the quiet before the storm, 2025Oil and PVA on canvas56.5 x 48 xm
framed 59 x 51 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlPondering, 2023Oil on canvas36 x 29 cm
framed 50 x 42.5 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlHimmelsscheibe, 2025Oil and PVA on canvas52 x 38 cm
56 x 41.5 x 4 cm -
Elli WahlIn the Quiet of Transformation, 2025Oil on Alupanel75 x 56 cm
framed 77.5 x 58.5 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlTotal Eclipse of the Art, 2025Oil on Alupanel56 x 75 cm
framed 58.5 x 77.5 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlDaydream, 2025Oil and PVA on canvas27 x 40 cm
framed 29.5 x 43 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlRepose, 2025Oil and PVA on canvas30 x 35.5 cm
framed 32 x 38.5 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlPro-found, 2023Oil and PVA on canvas45 x 32 cm
framed 59 x 44 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlRe-Framed, 2023Oil and PVA on canvas56 x 44 cm
framed 70 x 58 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlEcho of the Tide, 2025Oil on panel46.5 x 75
framed 49 x 77.5 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlTake your shot - Adam’s Apple, 2023Oil and PVA paper59 x 42 cm
framed 71 x 54 x 2 cm -
Elli WahlRevealed, 2023Oil and PVA on canvas55 x 37 cm
framed 68 x 51 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlRepose, 2025Oil and PVA on canvas46.5 x 39.5 cm
framed 49 x 42 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlAwakening, 2023Oil and PVA on canvas56 x 41 cm
framed 70 x 55 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlFrom Shadow to Breath, 2025Oil on canvas40 x 31.5 cm
framed 42.5 x 34 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlBetween Shadow and Form, 2025Oil on panel46 x 34 cm
framed 48 x 37 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlReminiscence, 2023Oil and PVA on canvas
54 x 38 cm
framed 67 x 51 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlScarab, 2025Oil and PVA on canvas42 x 29 cm
framed 44 x 32 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlCocooned , 2025Oil and PVA on canvas43 x 56.5 cm
framed 46 x 59 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlRest, 2025Oil and PVA on canvas29 x 43 cm
framed 32 x 45 x 3.5 cm -
Elli WahlRe-Cover II, 2025Oil on canvas46.5 x 39.5 cm
framed 49 x 42 x 3.5 cm