Artist Database

Peter Mammes was born into an Afrikaans-speaking community in Krugersdorp, South Africa, in 1986. He moved to Johannesburg at the age of 11 and attended the National School of the Arts in Braamfontein, where he received his only formal training in art. Interested predominantly in drawing and painting, he had his first solo exhibition at 16. Mammes started working in isolation after high school, developing his drawing skills and making artworks based on medieval European woodcuts. He set up a studio in India in 2013 and later in Russia, where he researched and developed the themes that have become inherent in his work. In 2018, Peter started a studio in Cairo, Egypt, where he made a series of drawings informed by his research into ancient Egyptian art, hieroglyphics, and contemporary local politics. Mammes has travelled extensively around the world, and this has contributed to the ideas and imagery found in his work. He was commissioned to design a commemorative coin for the South African Mint, released in 2019. Mammes currently resides in London on an exceptional talent visa. His studio is in Whitechapel.