By Nangamso Mabindla
5 August 2005

RURAL Transkei is on show at the Ann Bryant Art Gallery in East London, in an exhibition of paintings on the lost gem of South Africa.

At the show's opening on Thursday, 4 August, Cape Town artist Osnat de Villiers said she wanted to show the Transkei's rural people and their life.

"It is a beautiful place where people are friendly and make sure that they make time to talk to you, even if you are a stranger," she said.

The first half of her exhibition had its debut at her gallery in Cape Town in 2003, but did not make the impact De Villiers had hoped for. Now she has brought the paintings closer to home.

"The art-loving public of the Mother City could not relate to the story I was trying to tell. So I decided to bring my work closer to the Transkei and I chose East London."

East Londoners knew the Transkei and understood her paintings. "Most East Londoners know a lot about the place because some of them have visited its beautiful places, like the Wild Coast and Port St Johns," De Villiers said.

The 17 works on display are vibrant ink-on-paper illustrations painted over the last three years. De Villiers said each painting was a slice of soulful rural life, colourful characters or natural beauty she encountered while travelling through the Transkei.

"That place is a gem and with my paintings I'm trying to bring its beauty to life. I want people to see that beauty through my paintings."

The exhibition ends on August 18. For more information, contact the gallery on 043 722 4044 or visit it at 9 St Marks Road, Belgravia, East London.

The Ann Bryant Gallery is open from Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 5pm, and on Saturdays and public holidays from 9am to noon.