Dirkje lives and works in Nieu-Bethesda, Eastern Cape, South Africa where she owns the Infinity Gallery and has been exhibiting with other artists of the area since 2014. She studied B.Sc Abstract Mathematics at Stellenbosch University and completed her honours degree in 1998. After working as an actuarial assistant for two years she decided to go into the arts fulltime. “Growing up I was always inclined towards going into the arts, but my father wisely advised that this is not always the best route to take when it comes to making a living. We ended up making a deal with each other that I would equip myself for the corporate world and give it a good go, but if I then decide to still do art he was going to be okay with it. Needless to say that that is exactly what happened.”

She works mostly with oils on canvas, and recently started to portray what she has experienced since childhood having the neurological condition chromosthesia, in which sounds invoke images of colour. “We had a group exhibition in the gallery with the theme ‘Melodic Light’ and I decided this is the ideal opportunity for me to try and portray something of this experience. I then took existing pieces of music and painted the colours as I would see them. Although I find it impossible to nearly give an account for the real life experience, I really enjoyed the process and then decided to flip the order. I started painting with the music in mind that I want to compose not having the piano with me, and so this journey opened up whereby I compose by painting.”

“I would love people to join me on this journey and listen to the end result. May you enjoy listening to the music as much as I did composing it.”