Showcasing Design by Mariska

It was while standing on the highest point in Africa (Uhuru, Kilimanjaro) where Mariska took a moment to really admire the beauty you could see beyond the horizon. It was at that moment that she asked herself "How can I protect our environment and make sure this experience will be here for future generations." She took a lot away from that trip and one thing was to look at the world through different eyes. 

It was like any ordinary day, where she make herself a cup of coffee, but that day she held the beautiful orange Single-Use capsule in her hand and thought there has to be more to this capsule than just providing her with her daily caffeine fix. She could not bring herself to throw it away or recycle it. She started saving one capsule at a time, while also doing more research in capsules. What was it made of? Could it be recycled and if so what is the process behind it? Are there more sustainable options available? The questions just grew and she knew whatever she decide to do with this capsule has to capture its beauty but also educate people about the material as well as possible alternatives. 

It has been some time since she created her first Coffee addiction lamp and there have been many more materials that she have taken from trash to treasure pieces, but her inspiration for preserving Mama Earth and putting the environment first has always been at the core of every single piece of art she has created. 

Mariska's canvases consist mainly of portraits, this is due to her love for photography and capturing the essence of someone in the moment. She mainly use acrylic paint for her portraits and the color scheme is monochrome consisting of five colors, Black, black-Grey, Grey, White-Grey and white. 

Being raised in South Africa and also living in the Middle East she has seen first hand how the color of your skin or the passport you are from affects the way people treat you. Therefore she wanted to take a stand against that and deliberately not use any color for any of her portraits, with the hope that this will create awareness and will make people have more empathy and compassion and not judge a "book" by it's cover. 

She use a combination of brushes and palette knives to apply her paint. The paint has a very thick consistency adding a three dimensional look and feel to the piece. 

Since moving to Australia, Mariska has been captured by the beauty of the Australian landscapes and some of her newer work include landscapes as well. That she created using a variety of recycled elements and paint. 

 What others consider as trash Mariska like to convert into treasured art pieces, therefore her medium for my sculpture pieces and backgrounds in her canvases are always recycled or upcycled materials. Ranging from single-use coffee capsules, straws, plastic bags, water bottles, useless utensils, keyboard keys and candy wrappers to name a few. She tries to dig deep in each medium and have the medium be part of the narrative of the piece and also educate the viewers of the medium as well as the specific message that she would like the piece to portray.