Leela Bear (Alice Gouws) grew up in the Western Cape, predominantly the Little Karoo and coastal. It is here where she came to note the Mandelbrot (self-similar patterns) within nature which in turn has become pervasive in her work combined with a deep fascination with dream states and states of altered consciousness; though she also draws inspiration of literature and daily life. Being playful by nature, she explores each piece as it develops, working freely without formal constraints. Although her formal training is limited to Art as subject throughout school, she has explored various mediums (acrylic, water colour and sculpture) before finally settling on embroidery as a main focus. She has previously exhibited at galleries and the Absa KKNK in her hometown both as solo artist and in various group exhibitions. In 2012 she co-curated a group exhibition under the title Phanerothyme – Transcendental Paradigm and exhibited a collection of her own water colour and acrylic paintings along with a collection of toys.
She returned to South Africa in 2017.
Leela’s work on Facebook.
The Daejeon Arts Collective 