Ways of seeing | What does process reveal?

The process behind making an artwork is an important reminder of what contributes to art’s beauty, depth, and inarguable humanity.

 

We’ve put some thoughts together about what this idea of process means in the larger picture of making art, and what it means to us. Swipe to see the ways that focusing on art-making processes can shift how we interact with the works they create.

 

Our 2027 curatorial concept, In Acts of Alchemy, places a lot of focus on how the power of transformation can be built through an amalgamation of processes that can be visible or invisible to the eye. Regardless, their energy can be felt in their ever-present ability to shape how art is made, both materially and conceptually.

 

Cover image courtesy of Matt Dutile/Southern Guild. Artist Manyaku Mashilo at work in studio (Cape Town, 2024).

 

 

 

Instead of looking at an artwork as a finished product, we can adjust our perspective to see the process that goes into making each piece. These bring into focus the moments of decision-making, experimentation, play, thought, and refinement that go into the making of an artwork.

 

 

When looking at an artwork, you are witnessing a culmination of many moments of observations and realisations informing an artist’s use of materials, but equally how their practice will continue to evolve through processes of self-discovery.

 

 

Focusing on process emphasises an artwork’s existence as a culmination of overlapping layers of time. Artworks are an archive of each time an artist has sat to sketch out an idea, or test out a material, or unpack a conceptual topic.

 

Often, an artist’s process of making an artwork is a continuation of a broader timeline documenting the evolution of an artist’s style of making.

 

 

Appreciating artistic process reminds us that art-making is innately human. A finished artwork is the concluding point in a series of moments that include the beauty of uncertainty, mess, curiosity, connection, and emotional authenticity, which are a key part of every human experience.

 

 

Art, like alchemy, celebrates a process of transformation, with the belief of working towards creating something precious. Making art and meaning forge powerful possibilities when an artist, a viewer, and artistic materials fuse together.