Hidden Expanse I

Wiehan de Jager is a contemporary artist, visual communication designer, illustrator, and  lecturer working from his home-based studio in Riebeek Kasteel, South Africa. He grew up in Witbank, Mpumalanga, where he completed his secondary education and then moved to  Pretoria to study Visual Communication Design, pursuing his interest in design and  illustration. Wiehan then moved to Cape Town and, on an adventure just outside of the city,  came upon one of the oldest towns in South Africa, Riebeek Kasteel, where he now resides  with his family. 

From an early age, Wiehan fell in love with nature through family vacations. As a young  adult, he continued to explore Southern Africa and discovered the Kgalagadi, the  Richtersveld and the Cederberg which all became his favourite places. These arid and tactile landscapes are continuous sources of inspiration in his work. He finds these places to be  inimitable, spiritual, and complex in their unpretentiousness.  

Through his work, Wiehan explores the processes of mark making, experimenting with the  juxtaposition of various media such as: collage, printmaking techniques, drawing and  painting. The versatility of paper, and the possibilities one can have when working with a  combination of various types of paper, mediums and techniques are revealed and  celebrated. 

Wiehan’s work focuses mostly on themes such as: the abstract interpretation of texture and  forms in landscapes, the interaction between nature, man-made objects and environments  and the diarising of divine significance. The expressions are layered, structured, emotive and abstract, as if captured in motion. His work is sensitive, controlled and detailed, yet balanced out with bold, organic and graphic moments.  

Wiehan holds a BA Degree in Visual Communication Cum Laude from the Open Window  Institute. He has participated in various group exhibitions in South Africa.