Intraparadox, Interview with Juandré van Eck. Asem. 08 Sep 2026.

[In] this edition of Intraparadox which opens up this year's series of interviews for the SASOL New Signatures Visual Arts Competition winners, I sit with the 2025 overall winner Juandré van Eck. I trace the development of the original concept behind his ceramic sculptures to the 2024 edition of the art competition when he emerged as a merit award winner with the work Waters of Life. The overall winner of the competition that year was the Bloemfontein artist Miné Kleynhans with the work Meditations on Resentment. While Nosiviwe Matikinca, also from Gqeberha, or GQ if you wanna sound hip, had her solo exhibition Ukungalingani Kwezemfundo (Educational Inequality). A year later Van Eck clinched the overall winner's prize with the work Cycles of the Mind (2025).  

ARTIST’S STATEMENT
[Building] on the ideas explored in his winning work, Cycles of the Mind (2025), Die Vallei van Adem presents a captivating body of ceramic sound vessels that challenge the traditional relationship between artwork and audience. Rather than existing as static objects to be viewed, the sculptures invite visitors to engage with them directly, transforming the exhibition into a shared sensory experience.
Each ceramic vessel is constructed from two connected chambers. As participants gently move the sculptures, they draw in air as though taking a breath. The movement of air through water gives every vessel its own distinctive voice bringing each work to life through participation.

Although each sculpture has its own voice, they have been designed to be experienced together. The smaller works produce higher tones, while the larger forms resonate with deeper sounds, creating something that feels closer to a choir than a collection of individual objects.  As participants move through the exhibition, they contribute to an evolving soundscape. Rather than asking viewers to stand back and observe, Die Vallei van Adem invites them to give the work its breath and, in doing so, discover its voice within the valley.
 
"Winning Sasol New Signatures has given me the opportunity to push my practice further and realise my ideas on a much larger scale," says Van Eck. "Die Vallei van Adem asks people not simply to look at the work, but to activate it. Every interaction gives the sculptures breath and voice, making each visitor part of the artwork itself."

30 September

© Mmutle Arthur Kgokong, 2026

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To reference this audio documentation please cite:

Kgokong, M.A. 2026. Intraparadox, Interview with Juandré van Eck. Asem. 08 Sep 2026. SNS26EditOtwo-Mix. Mmutleak.com-Intraparadox.

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Reference credits

List of figures

1. Van Eck, Juandré. Waters of life (2024). Ceramics. 42cm x 32 cm x 16 cm
2. Van Eck, Juandré. Cycles of the mind (2025). Ceramics. 53 cm x 46 cm x 21 cm

Afterwords

* Original Image of Juandré van Eck and artworks courtesy of SASOL New Signatures Visual Arts Competition.

+Artist’s statement extract supplied by SASOL New Signatures Visual Arts Competition.

<> I remain grateful to Juandré van Eck for agreeing to sit with me for this interview. Le ka moso.

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