Usha Seejarim shares with Mihaela Ion her passion for creating art from materials she finds, often at recycling centres, highlighting her commitment to sustainable practice and the unique textures and stories these objects bring to her work.
Usha’s perspective on wooden pegs as part of a female story highlights how everyday objects carry deep personal and cultural significance, especially when connected to childhood memories. Her view suggests that pegs symbolise more than household tools; they embody her experiences, identity, and her understanding of femininity during her early years. This perspective invites us to consider how ordinary items become meaningful symbols within individual and collective narratives, reflecting the unique ways in which women relate to their pasts and cultural environments.
This podcast explores the complex dynamics of artistic identity and success, emphasising the vital role of curatorial and cultural relationships in shaping an artist’s career. It highlights how curators and cultural commentators act as bridges between artists and audiences, fostering collaborations that enhance artistic expression and visibility. The discussion also delves into how curatorial insight influences an artist’s development, helping to define and refine a unique voice within the art world.
Usha Seejarim presented at the AICA Congress at the University of Johannesburg (Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa), highlighting her contributions to contemporary art and engaging in discussion within the AICA International community.
About the speaker
Usha Seejarim (b. South Africa) is a conceptual and socially engaged artist who uses found objects to communicate complex and simple ideas around the domestic position of women. Seejarim holds a master’s degree in fine art from the University of The Witwatersrand and is currently completing an MBA through Henley Business School. A Sculptor who has built an impressive record, Usha is best known for her reinterpretation of ordinary and domestic objects by making use of common materials such as safety pins,wooden pegs, irons and brooms. Seejarim has completed numerous public commissions: The Mundane andthe Magical for the Radisson Red Hotel in Rosebank, a massive 40 ton steel sculpture, Resurrection of theClothes Peg for Burning Man 2022, the public portrait for Nelson Mandela’s funeral in Qunu, South Africa in 2013; Figures Representing Articles From The Freedom Charter in 2008 in Soweto, South Africa; and anartwork for the facade of the South African Chancery in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2008, amongst others. Currently, she is working on Force, a public sculpture in response to emetic torture, and the death of Laye-Alama Condé in Bremen, Germany.
Seejarim was awarded the prestigious Chancellor’s Alumni Dignitas Award from The University ofJohannesburg in 2021. She has presented over 14 solo exhibitions including Unfolding Servitude at SouthernGuild in Cape Town (2025), Between the Kitchen at Konstanze Wolter, E.Artis Contemporary in Chemnitz,Germany (2024), Tethered Storyline at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda in 2022; Angel of the house atSMAC Gallery in Cape Town 2021; Keepers of the Common at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair in Cape Townin 2018 and Vessel of the Fish at Kunstinstituut Melly Centre for Contemporary Arts in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 2020.
Seejarim’s work forms part of public and private collections such as Iziko South African National Gallery (SANG); the South African Foundation for Contemporary Art (SAFFCA), the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG), The Constitutional Court Collection and the Fondazione Fiera Milan, Italy among others
About the moderator
Mihaela Ion holds a Ph.D. in History and is a curator, cultural manager, and art researcher based in Bucharest. Since 2021, she has been a member of AICA and has served as an International Board Member since 2022, as well as a member of the Digital Strategies Committee. Over the past 18 years, she has presented papers on Communist art, cultural wars, and contemporary artwork at leading conferences across Europe. Mihaela collaborates with several art galleries and museums throughout the continent. Her Ph.D. thesis focuses on the heritage of Communist-era artworks.
Mihaela has also worked as a cultural manager in London with body>data>space, and in Paris, Sélestat, Strasbourg, and Nancy during her Courants du Monde grant from the French Ministry of Culture. In 2010, she co-founded Atelierul Magazine, an active international online and offline platform that fosters intercultural dialogue between design creators and the public. Her recent cultural expertise in project evaluation was demonstrated through her work with Apexart in New York.