ECHOES OF WHAT REMAINS by Elgin Rust

On exhibition from 4 June 2026. Public opening event 4 June from 18:00 - 20:00. Wine, Japanese Iced Tea and complimentary canapés will be served.

ECHOES OF WHAT REMAINS is a collage of framed, tinted cyanotype original one-off prints, variable in size. The source material is empty, repurposed plastic water bottles that I collected with the help of my neighbourhood, to experiment with and produce work from. The community spirit and interaction are something I hope to carry through into work and beyond.

The making process was manifold and varied. Before exposing the material, I chose to tint the archival paper and cotton fabric using beetroot, carrot, or turmeric. After exposure, the prints were either bleached and/or stained using coffee, green tea, and acorns. Some were wet-processed, while others were double sun-exposed. The unpredictability of the cyanotype process allows each image to emerge as a beautiful gift of the moment, rendering every print unique and precious.

The natural materials used to create the cyanotypes in my studio stand in contrast to the industrially produced synthetic water bottle, which is considered one of the top pollutants of our oceans and, by extension, our bodies.

Nanoparticles from the degraded material that enter the water cycle are found in fish and drinking water. In this manner, the chemicals enter our physical systems. I believe we are only beginning to understand the tip of the iceberg when studying the damage these foreign chemicals are causing to our natural systems.

Turning something sinister and potentially dangerous into something aesthetically pleasing, and something discarded into something precious, is a transformative act that inspires me and continues to motivate my practice through process.

Which is why, as part of the exhibition, I will be hosting a special raffle in support of SANCCOB, the incredible penguin rescue and conservation organisation dedicated to protecting endangered African penguins and seabirds.

Every raffle ticket purchased contributes directly to their vital rescue and rehabilitation work. Read more about them here https://sanccob.co.za/about-sanccob/

In addition, anyone who purchases one of the available once-off hand-tinted cyanotypes from the exhibition will automatically be entered into the raffle.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Elgin Rust is a Cape Town-based artist who, while establishing a career in the film industry within the art department, enrolled at Michaelis School of Fine Art in 2004.

She received her Master of Fine Art (MFA) with distinction in 2010. Since then, she has developed an oeuvre that spans printmaking, sculpture, and performative installations produced through both self-initiated and collaborative projects.

Guided by an approach she describes as finding “truth through play,” her work explores transformative material processes to unpack issues of social concern, ranging from judicial structures to the emotional, physical, and psychological effects of found objects. Rust has participated in solo and group exhibitions both locally and internationally.

Exhibition venues include: The Atelier of Alexandria, Michaelis Gallery, AVA Gallery, guerilla Gallery, Modern Art Projects, That Art Fair, VAS – Virtual Art Space, Art Under The Bed, Joburg Fringe, TAF Paper, Spier Light Art, Lakritz Gallery, and the KKNK Fees.

Her work is held in private collections, as well as in the Ellerman House Contemporary Art Collection, Sanlam Collection, and UCT Works of Art Collection.

After this detour into concerns pertaining to the present, Rust is back in her studio, expanding her studio-based printmaking practice and using environmentally non-invasive techniques to develop a new body of work that, at its heart, involves a kind of time travel. Keep an eye out for her Sky Cities, an exciting new body of cyanotypes at AVA Gallery in October 2026.