Mother.Monster.Stitch Tattoo activation invitation

Mother.Monster.Stitch – Tattoo activation

Invitations

It gives me great pleasure to invite you to an one-night only in-gallery tattoo activation!

Tattoo activation invitation

Note from the gallery: “Tattooing extends the exhibition’s exploration of skin as a site of memory, repair, and endurance. Hannalie Taute’s stitched rubber works already operate in the visual language of the body: marking, binding, and holding together. This activation allows that language to migrate from object to skin.  The tattoo is not merchandise; it is a voluntary act of identification. It’s a choice to carry the work beyond the gallery and into lived experience.

Important information:

7 May 2026 from 17:00 – 20:00 At 223 Jan Smuts Creative Hub, Rosebank, Johannesburg

Curated flash designs for an embodied extension art with Be Kind Tattooing.

Tattoos range from R850 – R2000 depending on the design and colour. 

Bookings are essential – limited slots available. Please book before 4 May via this link: https://223jansmuts.com/in-gallery-tattoo-activation/

This activation forms part of the 223 First Thursday programme.

Let me introduce you to the tattoo artists and their designs:

Eyre aka theunorthodoxunicorn on Instagram:

I got excited going through Hannalie’s work, trying to find references for what to draw. I wanted to draw everything so choosing was hard.
The way she does all the faces very much aligned with my intuitive sense of art so I immediately felt drawn to her pieces, visually.
I, personally, like playing with different styles of art when it comes to tattooing, but I would say that I enjoy doing bold, striking tattoos the most.
I like incorporating the simplicity of American Traditional styles into my work, whether I decide to add little dots or bright colours.
I believe that art and tattooing are both very much timeless.
We aim to give people something that would last forever, whether it be directly on them or will forever make an impact on them.
We would not be who we are without the people we make the art for.

-Eyre-

Tique aka monstertique_tattoos on Instagram:

As a tattoo artist, I’m drawn to Hannalie Taute’s work because of the way Taute treats material as something vulnerable, and open to transformation. Some could see Hannalies’ use of rubber as a stand in for skin.Pierced and reshaped,this mirrors how I approach the body as both surface and story.
Her hand stitched marks feel like both creative markings and repair, an idea that sits at the heart of tattooing. where marking the skin carries memory and identity.
I am drawn to her work as an artist who finds tattooing and creating art in general as a way to connect with memory,heritage, and the human experience.
Translating Hannalie’s art into tattoo form allows that tension of endurance and transformation to exist directly on the body.

-Tique-

Sarah aka sarahlee.tattoo on Instagram:

I grew up in a small town with artists for parents, and learning to sew was a must. My relationship with thread grew as I dabbled with my own embroidery and sewing projects. My connection to the artform made me immediately drawn to Hannalie’s work. Her use of bold colour and shapes is something I enjoy doing in my own work as an artist who specialises in American Traditional tattooing.
Hannalie’s mixing of mediums is relateable to me, as when I’m not tattooing I work with pottery and ceramics. I love incorporating tattoo imagery into the designs I paint onto ceramics. I see a parallel in the works, we both introduce a centuries old art that isn’t taken as seriously as it should (embroidery and tattooing) into traditionally accepted artworks (photography and pottery).

-Sarah-

Nate aka botanical_nate_tattoo on Instagram:

I was immediately drawn to Hannalie’s use of contrast. Not only her use of colour on a black and white image but mostly the contrast in her imagery. In particular I like the contrast between life and death, placing skulls over young children’s faces. I’ve always found this kind of imagery quite impactful. While life and death is opposite of each other, one cannot exist without the other. I am fascinated with the circle of life, how death and decay creates opportunity for life to grow.
I am always drawn to using heavy contrast in my artwork. In terms of imagery I love to combine skulls and plants or animal life (birds usually). I also enjoy using contrasting line weights, often encapsulating fine line work with bold illustrative lines.
I specialise in illustrative/ black work. I find tattooing people special as often tattoos serve as reminders. Reminders to appreciate something, a lesson learned, times spent with loved ones. I see tattoos as passport stamps in one’s life, reminding you where you came from and where you are headed.

-Nate-

Gosh, so many wonderful designs to choose from! Have fun and feel free to send me and image of your tattoo.

With love, Hannalie xxxx

Mother.Monster.Stitch and Joburg Ballet

Studio news/blog

Joburg peeps! If you were unable to visit my monographic solo exhibition ‘Mother.Monster.Stitch’ at Berman Contemporary in Cape Town, don’t fret…you can visit it now at 223 Jan Smuts Creative Hub, until the end of April.

PLUS: you are invited to this one-night-only performance art encounter!

2 April 2026 – Performance at 18:30–19:10 and repeated at 19:40–20:10
“Candice Berman Gallery is delighted to collaborate with Joburg Ballet on a one-night-only performance-art encounter, presented in response to three exhibitions. This special collaboration brings together visual art and contemporary dance in a dynamic and immersive exchange.

Four choreographers, Chloe BlaireGabriella GhiaroniTumelo Lekana, and Gabrielle Fairhead, present newly developed, site-specific performances in response to exhibitions by Restone MaamboHannalie Taute, and Shana Ellappa. Each choreographic work translates the visual language, materiality, and themes of the artworks into movement, opening a dialogue between disciplines.

Staged within the gallery, the evening comprises four distinct performances situated across the exhibition spaces. These unfold as an intimate journey through the gallery and are presented twice over the course of the evening, allowing audiences to experience the works across both time slots: 18:30–19:10 and repeated at 19:40–20:10.
Please RSVP on the 223 App
(ensure you have the latest version of the app)

‘Mother.Monster.Stitch on Afrimaxx

press, Studio news/blog

I am thrilled to let you know that the episode “What our heritage teaches us” on Afrimaxx including the feature where I talk about my exhibition ‘Mother.Monster.Stitch’ is airing this week. You can watch it on The Home Channel, DStv channel 176 and The Home Channel+ on Openview channel 113. 

Airing dates: 23 March – 29 March

Airing times (CAT): Monday – 19:00 (Prime Time)

Repeats:

  • Tues – 07:00 & 15:30
  • Wed – 11:00
  • Thurs – 15:00 & 19:30 (Prime Time)
  • Fri – 03:00 & 22:00
  • Sun: 00:00, 12:30 & 21:00

Features:

  • Ghana: Negros Tou Moria
  • Kenya: Thriving Empire
  • South Africa: Hannalie Taute
  • DRC: Patrick Mhindo
  • Location Feature: Chaminuka Lodge, Zambia

Alternatively, you can watch the full episode on DW’s AFRIMAXX website from this Friday, 27 March (see the link below):

https://www.dw.com/en/what-our-heritage-teaches-us/video-76566552

ICTAF 2026 with Berman Contemporary

Up next: Investec Cape Town Art Fair 2026

Art portfolio- my work, Invitations, Studio news

I am delighted to announce that my work will be represented by Berman Contemporary at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair from 20 – 22 February 2026.

My work will be in great company at the Berman Contemporary Main Booth C14, where, as the gallery notes: “the viewers are invited into a layered, multi-sensory space where listening is not passive but attentive, tactile, and embodied. Here, listening is understood as a form of translation, a way of making sense of internal and external worlds through material, memory, gesture, and care. Rather than prioritizing the auditory, this exhibition looks at how we listen through process, presence, and perception.”

You will become a real boy if you deserve it 2022_2023 Photographic print, thread and rubber 857x 122 cm
“You will become a real boy if you deserve it” Archival print, thread and rubber

On Saturday the 21st of February at 15h00 I will be doing a live performance titled: “I’M FINE”.

The performance extends the concerns of my exhibition Mother. Monster. Stitch. into live time.

Focused on a single, overused phrase, “I’m fine,” the work treats reassurance not as truth, but as a social reflex used to manage discomfort, deflect concern, and smooth over situations that remain visibly unresolved and the pressure to appear “okay” even when the body suggests otherwise. The performance centers feminine labour: grooming, maintenance, emotional regulation – unpaid, invisible, infinite. It is not about collapse or protest. It is about how much work is required to simply manage what is expected. It is a quiet, durational piece that allows audiences to observe at their own pace.

Hannalie Taute Call of the Monster for Mother.Monster.Stitch.   performance piece.

I look forward meeting you there!