Etching on Fabriano, 19.5cm x 29.5cm
The etching, “Op die Duck” (2025), shows a monumental duckling on the roof of a building. This work is filled with little details to capture the hustle and bustle of the city, which creates anxiety in how to negotiate this. The duckling is a symbol for young people and how they battle to cope with the ongoing crises around them and globally. The work is about making decisions that affect us, and it often feels like suicide, as young people feel trapped and burdened.
Suné Deetlefs was born in 2004 in Benoni. She is currently situated in Pretoria while aiming to complete her degree in Fine Arts at the University of Pretoria. Deetlefs is a multidisciplinary artist. Her works have a silly sense of humour, playfulness and irony inspired by the Fluxus artists, but depicts quite serious themes like purpose, permanence, life in South Africa or mainly themes related to her Faith, in a manner that will elicit an emotional response or trigger introspection within the viewer. She appreciates any form of music, enjoys playing instruments and would like to incorporate her love for sound into her practice.
She has a passion for bronze sculpture, incorporating found objects and different forms of printmaking. Suné has placed in the Top 100 op Sasol New Signatures in 2025 as well as the top 14 of the 2021 Venice Biennale Young Artist Competition. She has exhibited at Next to Gallery, Viewing Room Gallery, Bernie’s Car Joint and Trent Gallery.