Ina van Zyl, born and raised in Ceres, South Africa, matriculated from Charlie Hofmeyr high school before studying art at the University of Stellenbosch from 1990 to 1994. During her time there, she became a regular contributor to Bitterkomix, an infamous Afrikaans comic magazine created by fellow students Joe Dog and Conrad Botes. Graduating with a BA in Fine Arts, with a focus on Drawing, she merged her studies in Graphic Design and Fine Arts.
Van Zyl’s journey to Amsterdam began in 1995 as a guest of the Thami Mnyele Foundation for a four-month residency. This led to her participation in the prestigious De Ateliers postgraduate program from 1996 to 1998, ultimately leading her to settle in the Netherlands. Van Zyl currently resides and works in Amsterdam.
Although her career began with comics, the foundation of her paintings today still centers around the same themes – feelings of claustrophobia, shame and humiliation, eroticism and sexuality, and the complexity of human connection, or lack thereof.
In her Amsterdam studio, van Zyl spends a majority of her time focusing on oil painting, which remains her primary medium. In addition to this, she also creates drawings, comics, watercolors, and occasionally ventures into printmaking.
In the Netherlands, van Zyl has been honored with various awards for her paintings and has had numerous exhibitions, both nationally and internationally. Three monographs have been published, showcasing her artwork. One of these, Fly on the Wall, features all of her comics from 1992 to 2000, accompanied by an introduction written by Dominic van den Boogerd.
www.ftn-books.com has the SHAME _ PIECES publication now available.
