Meet

South

African

Artist

Gabrielle

Goliath,

the

2019

Recipient

of

the

Prestigious

Standard

Bank

Young

Artist

Award

While still in school, Goliath moved to Johannesburg where she is still based. As an artists she is known for her conceptual pieces that address complex social issues. Using video, live performance and photography, Goliath's work highlights issues regarding gendered and sexual violence and the invisibility of women, people of colour and LGBTQI+ people.

Goliath studied fashion design at the University of Witwatersrand's School of Arts in Johannesburg, where she was influenced by experimental fashion designers such as Hussein Chalayan. During this time, her work evolved into creations that were more conceptual in nature and "unwearable."

Goliath's work has been very well received both nationally and internationally. She has exhibited widely, garnering several prestigious awards, and is part of numerous private and public collections. One of her most notable works, 'Elegy', begun in 2015, forms part of a long term commemorative performance project. The work staged in various locations across the globe , involves a group of female vocal performers who perform a physically and emotionally draining mourning ritual involving a continuous sung cry for the loss of a particular individual—provoking a sense of distress and sorrow in the viewer.