Ava Grauls
b.1982 South Africa / Belgium
Artist based in London.
b.1982 South Africa / Belgium
Artist based in London.
I am a visual artist whose practice deconstructs the political mechanics of mapping, imperial history, and migration. Fusing material forensics with physical fabrication, I translate historical cartographies into artworks and installations made of raw copper, reclaimed organic matter, textiles, and found ceramics.
Drawing from my history as a South African immigrant in the UK and my research into archival trade routes, I expose the deep physical connections between Western nation-states and the colonial territories they seek to exclude. My work shifts the audience from passive viewers of flat maps to active physical navigators of built environments.