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)

A Monumental Moment 2015. Cotton tread and rubber. 171 x 127.5 cm

A Monumental Moment (2015)

portfolio, Studio news
A Monumental Moment. Cotton tread and rubber. 171 x 127.5 cm
A Monumental Moment. Cotton tread and rubber. 171 x 127.5 cm 2015

This work is inspired by the sculpture of Anton van Wouw which also featured on the cover of the magazine called “Die Boerevrou”(March 1919).

I looked at his sculpture while pondering my thoughts on being an “Afrikaner-meisie”.

I personally don’t like how the female “Boerevrou” figure is standing because she looks so demure and I always thought of Afrikaner women as strong; especially since they had to travel great distances in harsh and difficult circumstances (Die Groot Trek).

So I did a bit of research and found that women back in the day were not happy with his work since they believed that the “Voortrekker kappie’ depicted was not like the ones Afrikaner women wore in South Africa ….and much later when feminism reached South Africa women were upset because in the poem by JF Cilliers that featured underneath this work by van Wouw which ended with the words: “Ik sien haar win, want haar naam is – Vrouw en moeder”…and the feminist said that not all women are mothers.

That was when I decided to embroider myself in the nude sitting on the steps of this ‘monument’ with my back turned away from the ‘Boerevrou’…trying to redefine myself.

I am happy to announce that this work will be at this years FNB Joburg Art Fair (from 11- 13 September 2015); at the Everard Read gallery JHB booth.

This will be the first time my work will be exhibited at this art fair. A monumental moment indeed