Leli Hoch was born in Germany into a family of artists, writers and musicians. She lives in Stanford, South Africa.
She studied Sociology, Psychology and Educational Sciences, and holds a MA in Educational Sciences.
Working in the outdoor tourism industry led to living an adventurous life in intimate connection with nature and, closing the circle of her roots, initiated her into working as a nature artist.
Artist Statement
“My inspiration is nature: earth, rocks, plants, bones, minerals, water. Natural materials and processes have and create a history, capturing on their journey new forms and meanings, the traces of life as time goes by.
In my artistic process I negotiate a path between nature art, writing, installation, crocheting, painting, knitting, sculpture and want the viewer to see or feel the hands that made a work of art.
“Manipulation – from Latin manus “hand” and plere “to fill”.
A sense of skillfully handling an object or a person to one’s own advantage.”
Copper is the first metal mined and manipulated by humans. The thinnest copper wire is one of my favourite materials, interacting with other materials in a way they never would in real life.
Earth colours, all pure earth or natural pigments, mix and meld on the surface of canvas, fabric or paper, mapping the land they came from in fresh ways through the movement of a human hand – a gentle interaction between myself and the landscape.
I dedicate time and effort to a seemingly transient yet perfect object like a leaf. Combining old-fashioned hand-craft techniques with a fragile material like a leaf shows the delicate nature of it. How I work highlights the balance of fragility and strength of the leaves but also makes the destructive and senseless (ab)use of nature by humans visible.
All materials I use collaborate with each other and I with them. I am not the dominating factor, but a conduit in the creative process.
I love to explore the concepts of impermanence and decommodification, sometimes my work is ephemeral, made in situ and after completion and documentation left to disintegrate or decompose.”
Leli Hoch is one of the founders, selectors and facilitator for the Tankwa Artscape Residency, South Africa www.tankwaartscape.co.za
Media
Daily Maverick, South Africa
The Village News, Hermanus, South Africa
Kyknet TV, Kwela
Residencies
2021
Tankwa Artscape Artist Residency, South Africa
Bodhi Khaya Artist Residency, South Africa
2020
Tankwa Artscape Artist Residency, South Africa
2019
Tankwa Artscape Artist Residency, South Africa
Symposium Grateloup St Gayrand, Bordeaux, France
2018
Tankwa Artscape Artist Residency, South Africa
Leeuwarden Cultural Capital Europe 2018, Tytsjerk Artist Residency, Netherlands
2017
Global Nomadic Art Project Hungary
Global Nomadic Art Project Germany
Parco Sasso Simone e Simoncello: Paessaggi Migranti, Italy
2016
Global Nomadic Art Project South Africa
Ephemeral Land Art Installations
AfrikaBurn 2012 – 2022
Baardskeerdersbos Art Route 2015 – 2021
Exhibitions (group)
2024
Glen Carlou Gallery, Franschhoek
with Overstrand Artist Collective
2023
Baardskeerdersbos Art Route
The Old Village Art Gallery, Citrusdal
Arboretum Vijversburg, Leeuwarden, NL
2022
Prince Albert Open Studios
Guest artist
Geumgang Nature Art Biennale, Korea
Nature Art Video Exhibition
2020
“20/20 Vision – Hindsight Insight Foresight”
with Overstrand Artist Collective
Fynarts Gallery Hermanus, RSA
2019
“Contemporary Nature”
with Tankwa Artscape Residency’s artists
Sfintu Gheorghe, Romania
Pop-Up exhibition “Broken”
with Overstrand Artist Collective, Stanford, RSA
Art Festival Tulbagh, South Africa
with Overstrand Artist Collective
2018
Vijverspark Tytsjerk, Leeuwarden, NL
Geumgang Biennale, South Korea
2017
Yatoo meets Dreieich, Stadtgalerie Dreieich, Germany
Korean Culture Center, Budapest, Hungary
International Forest Art Center, Darmstadt, Germany
Parco Begni, Pennabilli, Italy
Baardskeerdersbos Art Route, guest artist, South Africa
2011
HumanEarth.2:Re(-)Presentations
NWU Botanical Garden Gallery, Potchefstroom
Land Art Workshops since 2010
Works available in selected galleries in Cape Town
Works in private collections in South Africa and Europe