Artist Database

Catriona Towriss 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 expresses her relationship to the life-forms around her. Through her attentiveness, and time-full creative process, she seeks to offer respect and care to the land.

In 2020, after eleven years in public health research, Towriss transitioned into full-time artistic practice. She held a solo exhibition at the AVA gallery (2024) and participated in group shows at the National Gallery (forthcoming), Marvol Gallery, Ebony Curated, among others. In 2023, she was shortlisted for Stauss & Co’s Cassirer Welz Award. Towriss has participated in artist residencies across South Africa, including Tankwa Artscape (2024) and Bodhi Khaya residency (2023). She is currently studying for a Diploma in Fine Art at Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town.

“I create sculpture, relief and site-responsive art that tells stories of my relationship to the living environment. My works are made using hundreds of seed-pods, tree bark-pieces, plant pigments and other raw materials, which I collect from the landscapes around me.

My practice emerged out of the need to regenerate my own relationship with the living world, which had been a place of curiosity and sanctuary during childhood, but from which I had become distant in adulthood. My practice is time and labour intensive, with the processes of foraging, processing and assembling raw materials becoming a way for me to listen for the stories contained within ecologies, and search for my place within the living world. My practice is a way to offer care, attention and understanding to the life-forms around me, with artworks expressing my reverence, respect and gratitude to the land.”