Artist Database

Pippa Skotnes was born in Johannesburg. She was educated at the University of Cape Town where she received Master of Fine Art and Doctor of Literature degrees. After she was sued by the South African Library for a copy of her artist's book about Lucy Lloyd and the |xam, Sound from the Thinking Strings, she became deeply interested in the nature of the book, producing several volumes inscribed on the bones of horses, leopards, and blue cranes. The exhibitions Lamb of God and the Book of Iterations (2001-2011), which have been exhibited in South Africa, Europe, and the USA, followed. Skotnes has produced many publications over her career, including, Claim to the Country (Jacana, 2007), Unconquerable Spirit (Jacana, 2008), and Book of Iterations (Axeage Press, 2009).

She is the founding director of the Centre for Curating the Archive at the University of Cape Town and has been actively involved in the digitisation and curation of significant archival collections, including the Katrine Harries Print Cabinet and the print archive of Cecil Skotnes. Her work on the Skotnes archive culminated in the exhibition Cecil Skotnes: A Private View, co-curated with Thomas Cartwright, which was shown at both the South African National Gallery and the Standard Bank Gallery in Johannesburg in 2008.

Adapted from the artist's biography on the Centre for Curating Archive and Humanities (UCT) website: http://www.cca.uct.ac.za/cca/people/pippa-skotnes, https://humanities.uct.ac.za/michaelis/contacts/pippa-skotnes accessed on 30 May 2025.