Peter Mammes

Mammes creates studies and patterns inspired by the places he has lived and travelled to, in his pursuit towards understanding himself and the world outside the west. His works are heavily influenced by archival research.

In 2018 Mammes was commissioned by the South African Mint to design a commemorative and a circulation coin in celebration of 25 years of constitutional democracy in South Africa.

"My belief is that there is no grand scheme, no final answers to any consequential questions. The importance lies within dialogue to come to better resolutions and conceptions of complex ideas that ultimately can lead to a better society. 

Through my work I seek to awaken a public and an inner dialogue. Written language in its current form is perhaps not adequate to deal with all the intricate dimensions any idea has to offer, language barriers and education further hinder comprehension. My aim is to develop a comprehensive way to visually describe complex ideas, a fuller spectrum embedded with nuances as well as depicting contraries at the same time. I am developing a symbolic approach since I have been studying how to understand hieroglyphics. It is a far more effective way to express reality in a way that forces one to think broad.

The symbolic values and their various combinations create whole new meanings and contexts within my work. I use pattern as a symbolic way to depict multicultural values, patterns that I have sourced around the world during my travels and research. There is a deeper meaning in making a drawing, a universal language of symmetry, contrast, pattern and balance that is another layer in an artwork.

Symbolism is a way to circumvent censorship, images are more potent and lasting than any words could ever be. I am and always will be in the process of creating this language, it's not possible to get to the end of this idea."