Up and coming talent

Sugashna

GOVENDER

Who are you and what do you do? My name is Sugashna Govender. My friends call me Sigyn. I’m a 26 year old self-taught artist from Gauteng, Pretoria.I use a variety of mediums such as paint, ink, colour pencils and pastels but I’m most comfortable with Pigment Liners and Graphite pencils. My style leans towards fantasy, realistic portraits and surrealism.

Why do you do what you do? Art is a way to express ‘me’. From a young age, I’ve always been motivated by the beauty of fictional literature, gaming concepts and animated movies- there’s a wondrous magic to it and art is a way to convey my own kind of magic and share it with the world.

How do you work? I dedicate at least an hour or two to sketching and drawing at night. With art being a hobby, I look forward to returning home after a day’s work to do an activity I love. I draw motivation from instrumental contemporary music.

What’s your background? I was born in Dundee, Kwa-Zulu Natal and moved to Pretoria at the age of 16 and completed Grade 12 at Hoërskool Uitsig in Centurion. I studied a course in HR Administration with Intec.

I am the youngest sibling of four, with two nieces and a nephew. I love my brother and sisters. My eldest niece is super supportive of my artistic abilities and a huge inspiration that fuels me.

What jobs have you done other than being an artist? I am a sales consultant for a watch company called Farah Watches and previously worked as a supervisor for a supermarket.

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What’s integral to the work of an artist? Inspiration and passion. There is nothing more beautiful than doing something you’re absolutely passionate about. Art is an expression of you. It’s the voice of the artist as music is to a musician. For me, nothing can be found as a difficult challenge if I’m excited to attempt it.

What role does the artist have in society? I think artists’ play a huge role in society. They’re the architects who design the beautiful cities we live in for example, they are a piece of the puzzle that teaches you a valuable lessons in your favourite animated movies or the creators of those breathtaking sculptures at historical places that preserve our cultural history. An artist is responsible for interpreting their version of beauty and inspiration to their audience.

What has been a seminal experience? I’ve had the opportunity to assist with projects with friends from Ingress Communities. (Ingress is augmented reality gaming by Niantic best known for their release of Pokémon Go). I designed a logo for the EBL (Enlightened Bundesliga- league) a German community that tests the skills of its gamers and various medals and apparel had been created with it. My biggest experience had been being a lead concept artist of the Ingress Portal Luminescence Projects held in Californiathe Luminescent Heart 2017 that inspired global collaboration by designing a lifesize steampunk heart and Project Liminal Continuum- May 2018 by assisting in concepts of an infinity illusions and interactive art posters.

How has your practice changed over time? I used to do a lot of fan art from pop culture? With plenty of practice, I’ve learned to draw without the use of references and create my own original designs. Practice is important but allowing your imagination to run free is even more so.

What art do you most identify with? Surrealism and fantasy. I love sketching strange worlds, oddities and fictional characters. Basically, anything ‘out of this world’

What work do you most enjoying doing? I enjoy working with pigment liners and pencils. Graphite pencils are a great way to create realistic art. Especially portraits. For my concept work, I love STAEDTLER Pigment Liners, they’re great for creating illustrations and intricate detailed designs, especially on paintwork.

What’s your strongest memory of your childhood?My grandfather. We were the best of friends and he always invested his time on me. I remember a time he had taught me to draw a field with a river and a bridge on kiddies’ chalkboard when I was 4, and birds that looked like the letter ‘m’. He had passed away when I was 13 but I know he would be proud of what I achieved today.

What themes do you pursue? I love steampunk and Pre-Victorian styles. I have also taken a liking to cryptography and encryptions. I had in created a series of posters that contained various hidden codes within the image that led to stories and literature about the scene of the artwork.

What’s your scariest experience? I had nearly lost my right hand when I was 9 years old. A pot of boiling oil had fallen onto myself and ended up with severe burns that rendered my right hand paralyzed for months. Thinking of it now, I probably would have never been able to do the art I am capable of if I had lost my hand.

What’s your favourite artwork? Of my own- My first acrylic painting of Jacob Frye from Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and my concept work with Project Luminescent Heart was based on a steampunk heart design. A life size sculpture was created as the final piece which was an interactive heart that could actually beat because of the gears and cogs within it. Of others- I’m hugely inspired by works of Dino Tomic and Kerby Rosanes. I have discovered Themba Mkhangeli’s ballpoint pen work ever since becoming an ambassador and his work is amazing.

Describe a real-life situation that inspired you?I have been very lucky to have conversed with many people from different backgrounds, cultures and circumstances from all over the world. I had been deeply moved by topics and circumstances of mental wellness and issues that revolve around depression, anxiety, PTSD and other forms of mental illness. It’s surprising how little is mental awareness is taught to society. I’m currently inspired to create a series of designs that give light to these issues.

What food, drink, song inspires you? I am a huge fan of electrical violinist, Lindsey Stirling. Her style, music and dance style is absolutely phenomenal.

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38What’s your most embarrassing moment? I don’t really think I have an embarrassing moment I can truly recall. I do however, have a terrible memory when it comes to remembering faces and cars! I could greet a customer and assist them, and when they return 10 minutes later, greet them again as if they arrived for the first time.

Why art? Art expresses yourself. It tells your story. Your journey. It has the ability to interact with those around you, your Communities. Touch hearts, touch emotions. It can bring smiles to the faces of others, and sometimes move them to tears. To me, that’s an extremely powerful and beautiful thing.

What is an artistic outlook on life? Enjoy everything about your journey throughout life. Travel and immerse yourself in unique surroundings and appreciate it. Give your best to everything you do and more importantly, do your best to assist and motivate others.

What memorable responses have you had to your work? I received a card and a locket from the overseas project leader that read: “You have inspired thousands with your art. Never forget the light you brought into all of our lives. Thank you for your talent, your heart and your friendship”.

What do you dislike about the art world? The idea that to consider yourself as an artist, means you need to study it. You don’t. You are already an artist and all you need is practice.

What do you dislike about your work? I used to dislike my work in the past. I always felt that what I created never lived up to my expectation to what was in my mind’s eye. I’ve learned that, it isn’t the right mindset to be in. If you keep putting your pencil to paper, you keep improving.

What do you like about your work? Deep vibrant colours and very intricate details. Drawing details is absolutely relaxing such as fibers on clothing and hair. Pigment Liners and Mars Lumographs are great to achieve it, I love matching complementary colours together. Teals and reds, Blues and yellow, greens with violet.

Should art be funded? Absolutely! Art is more than something pretty to look at. It’s a foundation to innovative ideas and even science. Imagine solar powered designs on a pavements that could power streetlights or a sculptures that could provide clean water to rural areas. Art is a way to think out of the box, that leads to innovative ideas which can lead to better and healthier living conditions in areas and communities. (I would certainly love to attempt the solar powered street light idea by the way!)

What makes you angry? We as humans, tend to want to see circumstances with the idea that there is only one way to do things. This is not the case. It gets to me that we don’t attempt to influence others to pursue their own ideas and creativity.

What research do you do? On an artistic level, I love to experiment so it plays as my actual research to learn new techniques and ideas. What superpower would you have and why?Considering I am a big fan of Marvel’s Loki played by Tom Hiddleston I would say I would love to have the ability to create illusions.

Name something you love, and why? Good literature and theatrical plays. Especially well written fictional books based in ancient historical eras. Coriolanus had been my favourite known play by William Shakespeare and my last read book was the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson.

Name something you don’t love, and why. Routine. I find myself annoyed when I tend to follow the same pattern over and over again. Constant change keeps your mind fresh with ideas and you tend to learn new things.

What is your dream project? I have 2: the first is that I want to be able to create designs that could change lives or conditions, similar to engineering, however I believe that concepts and designs have the ability to spark ideas. Such as innovative ideas that could help researchers, scientists and various facilities to discover new methods to solve problems whether that be in space technology, digitally, technological aspects or even eco-friendly ways to assist nature and wildlife.

The second would be concept designs in digital gaming. It’s a huge environment and it’s an area that is massively growing. I rarely

see South Africans involved in the process of making great digital games. I would like to certainly be a part of it and showcase our skills one day.

Name three artists you’d like to be compared to. I don’t have artists that I would want to be compared to in general, but I think all artists would want to be represented as famous artists that had shaped history in particular one day. For me that would be Leonardo Da Vinci. He was a polymath who excelled and shaped history in various categories of art and science- as I am an artist who enjoys cryptography and steampunk styles.

Favourite or most inspirational place? I spend time at a little area near where I work in the morning. It’s a serene place with a small garden and a fountain. It’s a beautiful place to think and focus.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given? “You are responsible for the person you want to be”. - It means that your goals and dreams are never too impossible and farfetched to be real. So do the things that could bring you closer to your goals.

Professionally, what’s your goal? I want to further my career in art and study digital art. I would love to showcase South African talent in the CG art and digital gaming industry. Also I want to travel and experience different cultures and lifestyles around the world- I think that travel has a huge exciting background and it would be amazing to gain different inspirations to create something with South African fusion flair.

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