There was a surpise in store last night at the Byron School of Art’s annual exhibition for second-year student Tanja Taljaard when she was awarded a prize of an exhibition at the Northern Rivers Community Gallery in Ballina.
‘Meeting the Moment’, the group exhibition showcasing the work of students in the Byron School of Art Visual Arts Portfolio program, was a regional treat last night. The diversity of the works was a testament to the teachers at the BSA, who include artists Michael Cusack, Emma Walker and Christine Willcocks. From sculptures to mini-installations, still lives, landscapes and portraits, these second-year students all showed talent and tenacity – two absolute pre-requisites if they are to embark on careers as artists.
But among all the original voices in the group one stood out above the crowd – that of South-African born, now Newrybar resident Tanja Taljaard’s. Taljaard brings a sense of displacement and longing to her thoughtful, introspective works that appealed not just to the audience (three of her four works sold), but also to Lee Mathers, the co-ordinator of the Northern Rivers Community Gallery in Ballina, who was delighted to offer Taljaard a month-long exhibition in the gallery next year.
“This is the first year the NRCG is partnering with the Byron School of Art BSA to support an exciting professional development opportunity for a student from the organisation’s art program,” says Mathers, “and while all of the works presented in the exhibition were of exceptionally high quality and interesting, Tanja’s works really drew me in…quite instantly in fact. Her works are playful and vulnerable at the same time, capturing distilled moments on the conundrum of life, the big and the small things that make us reflect, persevere and flourish.”
Tanja Taljaard: It’s not always going to be like this; acrylic on paper, 2016
Tanja Taljaard; ‘Untitled’; acrylic on paper, 2016,
For Tanja, it was a vindication of her decision to take the plunge into studying art. “I always wanted to study art at school,” she says, “but because we lived in these tiny towns in South Africa it wasn’t possible. We moved a lot, and often the schools didn’t even offer art as an elective, but it was always in there as a dream. Finally last year as a 40th birthday present to myself I enrolled in the Byron Community College’s Certificate III in Visual Art. At the end of the course, which I loved, I wanted to go to the next level, and I’d heard great things about the Byron School of Art, so I opted for their visual arts portfolio, which is their second year course.”
Tanja’s wry, almost wistful works have a quizzical, searching element to them, and she enjoys other people’s reactions to them. “I like the fact that people can create stories about my works,” she says. “Often the stories are completely different, and for me interpretation is an important element in my work.”
The award came as a complete surprise. “None of the students had any idea this was happening,” she says. “When Emma and Lee were talking about it, I was thinking, ‘wow that would be nice’, but it really didn’t occur to me that it would me. When they said my name I actually waited for a minute to check it was the right person!”
Artist Tanja Taljaard and artist and teacher from the Byron School of Art, Michael Cusack.
Tanja has been thrilled with the level of teaching she’s experienced, both at the college, and this year with the BSA. “We are so lucky in this region that we have so many high-profile artists who also teach – they bring so much experience to their teaching, I’m extremely grateful to them,” she says.
But as well as learning the art ropes, what Tanja has discovered over the past couple of years is that it’s just as important to learn to stand up for her work. “I think perhaps is the greatest journey for an artist,” she says, “to learn that their individual voice is valuable.”
It’s only the next morning, but I’m hazarding a guess she’s already planning her exhibition. She laughs: “How did you guess? I’m already thinking of the path ahead, and it’s very exciting.”
