Orchid 2

Louis Kok After many years of working in his multimedia, design and production studio, Louis has returned to the contemporary art world with his etches drawings and Embossing. Although Louis studied and qualified as a fine artist he did not study printmaking; rather choosing to focus on painting and drawing. Combing these skills with his understanding of the underlying construction of form and strong use of light and shade he is able to convey tension in his images. The image is not necessarily the message, but rather a hint to the viewer and thus allowing them the opportunity to form their own perception and personal interpretation which invites further discussion. It is his skill as a draftsman that makes him such an incredible all round artist. Louis has researched and tested multiple processes and techniques including dry point, acid etch, aquatint, white ground, open bite, engraving and embossing. He has experimented with superimposed multiple plates and lino cuts to create exiting compositions. This creates strong contrasts between the clean embossed ghost-like shapes of the lino embossing and the dark aquatint and deep etched line work. He has elevated his drawings by combining them with embossing to add other dimensions. As a print maker he is fascinated by the traditional deep black pigment and the contrasting white of the paper which lead to images high in contrast and very over exposed creating a raw tranquillity with high impact. Louis is uninhibited by the mediums in which he works and is constantly pushing the boundaries. These black and white images provide an insight of the positive and negative emotions connected to living with Bipolar Mood Disorder after the trauma of enforced and tortured military service as an openly gay man in apartheid South Africa. His constant research; his willingness to learn everything possible about his choice of medium; his pursuit of quality and perfection; his willingness to evolve and redefine himself as a person and artist; his progressive nature and use of personal experiences which he translates into imagery and the language of art all coalesce in a unique formula that places his talent foremost among a new generation of Artists Louis works in his studio in Pretoria; it’s a place of silence and sometimes loneliness which triggers the emotional aspect of his work. This is followed by the joy and the cacophonous sound of chill, lounge, electronic and experimental music which, he says, “fills my veins and restores me to a higher consciousness”. The music invokes a trance-like state when he creates his finest works.