Mensdier draws on Afrikaans folklore and stories embedded in childhood memory, revisiting their darker psychological undercurrents through an adult lens.
Figures and fragments emerge through ink, bleach, collage and acrylic film, where material is layered, disrupted and partially obscured. The physical process echoes the instability of memory itself.
Across the series, inherited narratives become a means of exploring instinct, authority and vulnerability, and the ways early stories continue to shape our understanding of self.
Mensdier: Raka, 2026
Ink, bleach, collage and acrylic film on paper
42 × 29.5 cm
Raka considers the shifting threshold between inherited instinct and constructed identity. Drawing on psychological archetypes, Afrikaans folklore and remembered narratives, the works explore shadow, vulnerability and the unstable relationship between power and agency.
Across printmaking, painting and mixed media, black recurs as both material and psychological presence; obscuring, binding and leaving its trace.
Mensdier: Vestige, 2026
Relief print (linocut) on Fabriano paper
Edition of 4 
25 × 35 cm
Vestige draws on Brolloks en Bittergal, an Afrikaans childhood tale of Skoonlief, a young girl held captive by the monstrous figures Brolloks and Bittergal. Etched into my memory from childhood, the story becomes a point of departure for examining psychological captivity, fear and authority, and the traces inherited narratives leave behind.
Lost and Found draws on the disappearance and eventual return of Skoonlief, and the psychological reverberations of captivity.
Mensdier: Spoor (Trace), 2026
Ink, bleach, collage and acrylic film on paper
52.5 x 37.6 cm
Spoor continues my exploration of ink and bleach, a primary medium within my practice, through collage, rope, and fragments of acrylic film. Binding and residue become traces of containment and vulnerability, suggesting something left behind that can still be followed. An extended exploration of ink and bleach, a primary medium within my practice, through collage, rope, and fragments of acrylic film. Binding and residue become traces of containment and vulnerability, while suggesting the possibility of release.