Emergence I

Talitha Deetlefs

Talitha Deetlefs is a South African artist whose sculptures explore the human body as a vessel of personal and collective history. Centering primarily on the female form, her work examines identity, social conditioning, and the tension between strength, vulnerability, and suppression. Figures often appear poised yet are bound in tight bands, symbolizing the subtle constraints of culture, upbringing, and inherited beliefs. Through these forms, she invites viewers to confront internal contradictions and reflect on the narratives that shape their authentic selves.

Her creative process is intuitive and organic. Starting with clay, she casts her forms in a composite medium and incorporates strips of lead, weaving or binding them around the figures to echo themes of restriction, resilience, and transformation. Rather than following a fixed plan, she allows each piece to evolve naturally, with meaning emerging as the work unfolds.

Deetlefs studied painting and printmaking at Tshwane University of Technology and discovered her passion for sculpture while working in the film industry as a faux fabricator. This experience fostered her appreciation for three-dimensional storytelling and helped shape a distinctive artistic language that blends mythology, symbolism, and self-inquiry.

Now based in Somerset West, she continues to create evocative sculptures that explore identity, transformation, and the layered complexities of the human experience.

Talitha Deetlefs is represented by The Artists Gallery in Cape Town.