Amelia Sonnekus - 'Kangaroo Paw Meditation' 2024 - Mixed Media & Collage on Board (ason002)

Artist Statement

Amelia Sonnekus creates vibrant and whimsical naive art, challenging the boundaries of both style and medium. Her work can be illustrative, intuitive, surreal or abstract, extending into the digital realm, where she seamlessly fuses digital mark making with her physical art. Hand stitching and machine embroidery further add to the layered metaphor for her multifaceted reality.

Amelia's neurodivergent diagnoses in recent years deepened her understanding of why she experiences and perceives the world with such unfiltered intensity. This directly influences her strong and emotive use of colour, line and mark making.

Artist Bio

In 2009, Amelia Sonnekus and her family exchanged the picturesque wheat belt in South Africa for Western Australia, first living in the golden outback and then settling in leafy Perth Hills.

She acquired a Bachelors of Fine Arts (Information Design) at the University of Pretoria, subsequently working and lecturing in advertising and graphic design, while freelancing as an illustrator. The skills she acquired over the years are beneficial for the integration of digital platforms and physical work in her illustrations and emerging art practice.