Catriona Towriss (b. 1987) is a self-taught artist who creates sculpture, relief and site-responsive art from seed pods, tree bark and other foraged-materials. Born in the UK, Towriss lives and works in South Africa. Her work tells stories of the land and its life-forms. Through her attentiveness, care and time-full creative process, she seeks to repair and regenerate reverence for the living world.

'I create sculpture, relief and site-responsive art that tells stories of the living environment. My works are made using hundreds of seed-pods, tree bark-pieces and other raw materials, which I collect from the landscapes around me. Often using discarded materials from invasive species, my work sheds light on the ways that ruptured human-Earth relations have led to arrivals and proliferation of some life-forms and communities, and the departure and erasure of others.'

'My practice emerged out of the need to regenerate my own relationship with the living world. The laborious processes of foraging and assembling materials ask for ritual, care and attentiveness, and connect me to the landscapes I work within. Through drawing attention to the inherent creative and sustaining power of nature, my work seeks to repair and regenerate reverence for the land.'

In 2020, after eleven years in public health research, Towriss transitioned into full-time artistic practice. Towriss has held solo exhibitions at the AVA gallery (2024) and Alliance Francaise (2022) in Cape Town. In 2023, she was shortlisted for Stauss & Co’s Cassirer Welz Award. Towriss has participated in artist residencies across South Africa.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024
'Time as Method', Association for Visual Arts, Cape Town, South Africa

2022
'Chaosmos', Alliance Française, Cape Town, South Africa

2019
'Embodiment', Pop-up Exhibition, Cape Town, South Africa

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2025
'Terrain', EBONY/CURATED, Franschhoek, South Africa
'Outside in - Inside out', Glen Carlou Gallery, Franschhoek, South Africa
'Art Route', Bardskeerdesbos, Overstrand, South Africa

2024
'Carving Connections', The Alternative Art School, (online presentation)

2023
'Time as Method', Ritual Creators pop-up exhibition (online presentation)

2020
'Home is Where the Art is', Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, South Africa

RESIDENCIES

2023
Tankwa Artscape Artist Residency, Tankwa Karoo, South Africa
Bodhi Khaya Artist Residency, AIR-SA, Overstrand, South Africa

PERFORMANCES

2024
Felt Sense, Nuits Des Forets, France (online performance)
Dreaming & Lucidity, Tankwa Artscape, Tankwa Karoo, South Africa

2023
Ephemeral Home, Bodhi Khaya residency, Overstrand, South Africa

2019
Amagumbi amane kule lizwe, Institute of Creative Arts, Cape Town, South Africa

PRESS

2023
SA ArtTimes Announcing the 2023 Cassirer Welz Award