ABOUT ME
Ilse attained her Bachelor of Visual Arts degree in 2009 through the University of South Africa and is currently practicing Art Photography while teaching fine art in the Vaal Triangle.
I always wanted to be Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up. I can't fly, but swimming is the next best thing. It’s harmony and balance. The water is my sky. ~Clayton Jones
The underwater environment is unpredictable and indeed mysterious, a place of freedom yet fear. Everyone's experience of water is very unique and personal.
While Ilse's underwater photography generally involves commercial shoots, her conceptual work speaks of a subconscious awareness of self. A deeper sense of being is explored through the sometimes disturbing quality of her work. This is due to a conflict between the individual's feelings of peacefulness and pain while being submerged. Her images often contain references to flight, unrestrained freedom and confinement. Other aspects of her work are concerned with the exploration of a euphoric self-sacrifice; a symbolic un-birth.
