{"product_id":"contemplation-1","title":"Contemplation","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"left\" style=\"text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;\"\u003eWinner at the Centurion Art Association Annual Artist of the Year Award 2026 in the category Conceptual Art.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"left\" style=\"text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eContemplation begins with reflection: a search through my family lineage that revealed both an abundance of names and a sense of distance from the people they represent. On one branch of my family tree, I encountered approximately 150 names across six generations from the earliest documented ancestor, Jan van Straten (1730). Yet only a small number felt familiar. The family tree became less a record of belonging than a question: who are all these people to me—and might they still, somehow, be family?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"left\" style=\"text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eThe work consists of three painted mirror compositions based on pages from my grandmother’s photograph album. Fragmented family photographs appear across the surfaces, interrupted by the unpainted mirror. As the viewer moves around the work, their reflection enters these archival scenes. For a brief moment, they become part of the image—and perhaps part of the family.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" align=\"left\" style=\"text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;\"\u003eThe drawer operates as both container and threshold. While it is open, the mirrors continually receive new reflections: fleeting presences that are temporarily held among the remembered faces. Once the drawer is closed after the exhibition, those reflections disappear, becoming lost and forgotten.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Susan Dry","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56180141490498,"sku":"SD20260908MM001","price":18330.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0875\/9656\/4802\/files\/Kvdj2026SusanDry_Artwork1_Contemplation_view1_1.jpg?v=1789498328","url":"https:\/\/www.spektra-art.co.za\/products\/contemplation-1","provider":"Spektra Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}