About
Bio
Lorissa Toweel is a Brisbane-based artist, raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. In her formative years, designing and crafting provided an outlet for the musings of her mind. Honouring her desire to create, she pursued an Arts education. A diploma in Visual Arts with TAFE Southbank was quickly followed by bachelor’s degree in Fine Art through Queensland College of Art (QCA), Griffith University.
Her practice explores fragility of memory and the complexity of human relationships and trauma.
Artist Statement
As a child growing up in the harsh urban realities of Johannesburg, art has always offered an escape into endless possibilities. The process of conceptualising and designing almost satisfied my desire to manifest these imaginings – almost, but not quite. As I matured, I set out to develop my technical skills as a maker, and make tangible that which had only been imagined between paper and ink.
Some time after moving to Brisbane, I embarked on my journey into an arts education. It was during my diploma in Visual Art with TAFE Southbank, that I realised I had a burning desire to develop my technical capacity and knowledge in a more refined program. In pursuit of such formal education, I found myself enrolled in a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art with Queensland College of Art (QCA), Griffith University. University provided a space to nurture both my sculptural and planar facets of my practice by channelling my efforts into Painting and Jewellery.
These mediums facilitate my study of the human experience, spirit and capabilities. The work focuses on interiority and all conditions of human relation – from relationships with others, to one’s self and one’s environment. I have a particular interest in the internalisation of these experiences, their memory and their associated traumas.