Marelize van Niekerk

Artistic background

I was born in Rustenburg, South Africa. Although I attended The Kruin high school, I got accepted to medical school and graduated in 2002 as a medical doctor. I continued my art as a hobby during my career as a gynaecologist, followed by 7yrs as a GP. My early retirement due to severe Lupus, marked my full time attention to my art. My pieces have always been surrealistic. I am pagan so the universe, specifically our co-existence with nature is extremely important to me. I also incorporate my other passion of medicine into my work which has taken a more personal turn the past 7yrs since being diagnosed with SLE/Lupus. Like so many artists, I use my art to not only express my reality, but also as a graphic diary to make sense of the darkness that tries to chip away at our spirits.