---
title: Sharday Swanepoel
description: Sharday Swanepoel is a lens-based artist working in maternal identity and childhood memory
url: "https://www.artsume.com/a/sharday-swanepoel"
type: artist
createdAt: 2026-04-11
updatedAt: 2026-04-16
disciplines:
  - Photography
  - New Media
  - Conceptual Art
  - Book Arts
  - Zine Making
location: "Cape Town, WC, South Africa"
website: "https://shardayswanepoel.com/"
birthYear: 1986
---

# Sharday Swanepoel

*Sharday Swanepoel is a lens-based artist working in maternal identity and childhood memory | Photography, New Media, Conceptual Art, Book Arts, Zine Making | Based in Cape Town, WC, South Africa*

## Artist Statement

Swanepoel’s work explores an interior landscape shaped by memory, domestic life, and the psychological weight of motherhood. Her images often blend the familiar with the surreal. Using flash and hard light she reveals her subjects in stark, unflinching detail. The result is a visual language that is both strange and intimate: nostalgic yet eerie, inviting viewers into a world where childhood memory and maternal identity overlap in surreal and unexpected ways.

## Biography

Sharday Swanepoel (b.1986) is a lens-based artist living in Kommetjie, South Africa.

With a background in Architectural Studies, her interest in sculpting with light naturally evolved into a photographic practice. As a mother of four, photography became both a creative outlet and a way to preserve her personal stories.

## Curriculum Vitae

### Education

- **2007** - Barch, in Architectural Studies, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban

### Group Exhibitions

- **2026** - "Summer Show," Art Achool Africa Cape Town
- **2026** - "Fotofilmic Open Exhibition," Fotofilmic Vancouver
- **2026** - "Love," Art-Icon Paris
- **2025** - "Resisting The Pixel," Kingsbridge Art Gallery Cape Town
- **2025** - "Uno," Ultraviolet Gallery Cape Town
- **2025** - "GUP Fresh Eyes," Hungry Eyes Art Fair Amsterdam
- **2024** - "The Uncanny," FNB Art Fair Open City Programme Johannesburg
- **2024** - "August House Salon Show," Through The Lens Collective Johannesburg
- **2024** - "Open Studios Kommetjie," Open Studios Kommetjie Kommetjie
- **2023** - "Open Studios Kommetjie," Open Studios Kommetjie Kommetjie
- **2023** - "The Portrait Show," Through The Lens Collective Johannesburg (Curated by Michelle Loukids)

### Awards & Grants

- **2026** - FotoFilmic Open Winner, Fotofilmic
- **2025** - Chico Photobook Review Attendee , Chico Photobook Review

### Residencies

- **2025** - Chico Photobook Review, Charcoal Press, Pray

### Lectures & Presentations

- **2025** - "A photo is not a photograph," A photo is not a photograph Live Storytelling Event The Bjou Studios Cape Town

## Portfolio

### Projection Slide show of Paracosm body of work (2025)

*Audio Visual*

*n/a*

A projection showing a small selection of the photographs from the body of work called, "The Extraordinary, Supernatural Paracosm of Sharday Swanepoel". I would like to exhibit this projection in a similar way for Open Studios Kommetjie to give the audience a rich post-documentary narrative based photographic experience.

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### Untitled (2024)

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35mm film photograph

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### Untitled (2023)

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35mm film photograph

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### Untitled (2023)

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35mm Film Photograph

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### Untitled (2022)

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Digital photograph

## Links

- **Website:** https://shardayswanepoel.com/
- **instagram:** https://instagram.com/shardayswanepoel