Ingrid Wilson

FLTR: Bridget Shelton, Greg Kerr, Ingrid Wilson and Cecile Blevi during the opening of the exhibition

People who need people… Exhibition

Artist’s Statement
Depicting people in my art has always been part of my process. Over the
last few years I began to explore painting how people relate to themselves
and to the audience, but always people whom I did not know.
In 2021 I found the courage to begin painting portraits of myself, initially
with masks. To my surprise it became an intimate, liberating experience. I
could draw myself as I wanted and instead of the two or three I expected
have completed over thirty so far.
This in turn led me to begin painting my mother from the only photograph I
have of her as a child. She had arrived alone in England from Germany as
a14 year old Jewish refugee shortly before the war. To survive she studied
nursing and was nicknamed the dark angel due to her dark hair and joyful
spirit. Painting her was profoundly emotional as I lived her experience and
explored our similarities and differences. I came to realize how much I am
my mother’s daughter and now see many of her physical and character
traits in my portraits of myself.
Artist’s bio
Ingrid Wilson completed a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art at Wits in the 1970s.
Thereafter she took a hiatus from painting, as she got married and had
children. In place of painting, she began designing and making unique,
elaborate, finely crafted leotards for competitive rhythmic and artistic
gymnasts – a world she had accessed through her daughters. Twelve years
ago, she returned to her first loves, painting and drawing. She has attended
painting workshops run by Greg Kerr and a drawing workshop with Diane
Victor. She has since participated in two group exhibitions and has three
works on the 2023 travelling Turbine Exhibition.