Meet the Artist

Sharday Swanepoel (b.1986) is a self-taught lens-based artist living in Kommetjie, South Africa.  

With a degree in Architectural Studies, her affinity for sculpting with light soon led her to pick up the camera. As a mother of four, photography became a means of documenting and preserving her own stories. Swanepoel’s work is an introspective exploration of social issues, personal identity, and domesticity in South Africa. Through her works, she explores the concepts of memory. The work has a tone of melancholy: “this too shall pass” a prolific notion fed to women experiencing the difficulties of mothering. The photographs  are made using both digital and analogue photography.

Swanepoel has exhibited her photographs in various group shows, including the 2023 Portrait Show, hosted by Through The Lens Collective, as well in the group exhibition, ‘The Wildest Most Beautiful Ugly’, hosted by Too Tired Project,  Open Studio Kommetjie, 2023 and the 2024 August House Salon Show.

shardayswanepoel.com | @shardayswanepoel