Arboreal Thresholds: Journeys Through the Inner Landscape

— by David Griessel

  

A journey can begin with a step into an unfamiliar place. It can also begin with a turn inward.

In Arboreal Thresholds: Journeys Through the Inner Landscape, David Griessel explores the passages between the world around us and the landscapes within. Opening at Art@Africa on 5 November 2026, his upcoming solo exhibition brings together intricate ink work and organic forms to consider introspection, transformation and the search for a deeper understanding of the self.

Trees become more than a setting. Labyrinths wind through ancient trunks, roots hold suggestions of wisdom, and books open into cosmic star-maps. Figures navigate forests, mazes and altars that reflect the workings of their own consciousness.

The journey is rarely straightforward. A movement through these imagined landscapes also becomes a movement deeper within.

From the Studio

Griessel’s process begins with sketches and doodles on inexpensive scrap paper. This informal starting point gives him room to experiment, erase and begin again. A drawing may develop through several versions before he is satisfied with its composition, design and emotion.

Once the sketch is ready, he photographs it and has it printed at the intended size. Using a lightbox, he transfers the drawing onto quality paper before working with ink, gouache and watercolour.

Crosshatching and detailed mark-making are central to the drawings. Depending on scale and technique, a work may take hours, days or weeks to complete.

Between Whimsy and Reflection

Born and raised in Bloemfontein, Griessel completed his BA in Fine Arts at the University of the Free State in 2012. Drawing has remained central to a practice shaped by imagination, literature and personal experience.

His scenes may appear playful, but the themes beneath them are often serious and deeply personal. Displacement, alienation and melancholia recur throughout his work, held in balance with whimsy and a sense of possibility.

Together, his works build a parallel universe he calls Duskland. Its narratives remain open, leaving room for viewers to bring their own experiences and associations.

In recent years, trees have become a central motif. Griessel describes them as symbols of resilience and sources of healing: ancient anchors in a restless world. Growth and decay, life and death, light and darkness form connected threads within his practice.

 

From Drawing to Sculpture

 

Collaboration has opened new possibilities for Griessel’s imagined world. Through his work with Art@Africa, Kunye Colab and fellow artists, his practice has expanded into augmented reality, resin and bronze sculpture.

Griessel is also a Kunye Colab artist. At Kunye studio, multiple new sculptures are currently being made for the upcoming solo exhibition, continuing this collaborative development of his practice.

For now, their forms remain part of the anticipation surrounding the exhibition.

Looking Closer

Griessel wants his work to serve as a springboard for the viewer’s imagination. He enjoys the stories people bring to his art and regards their own subjectivity as part of completing the work.

That openness sits at the heart of Arboreal Thresholds. The exhibition invites us to move from spectators to travellers, following paths that turn through the mind rather than leading towards a single answer.

There is room to pause, look closely and make our own connections. The destination, as the exhibition narrative suggests, is a deeper understanding of the self.

EXPLORE THE COLLECTION

Exhibition Details

Title: Arboreal Thresholds: Journeys Through the Inner Landscape

Artist: David Griessel

Opening: 5 November 2026 | 18:30

Venue: Art@Africa Gallery, V&A Waterfront

RSVP: david@artatafrica.art