Usha Seejarim
Usha Seejarim is a conceptual artist whose practice interrogates the intersection of gender,
labour and power through the transformation of everyday, domestic objects. By recontextualising materials such as irons, brooms, and wooden pegs, Seejarim’s sculpture
and installations destabilise normative associations of women’s work, reframing acts of care
and repetition as aesthetic and political gestures.
Born in Bethal, South Africa in 1974, the artist obtained a B Tech Honours in Fine Art from
the University of Johannesburg (1999) and a Master’s in Fine Art from the University of
Witwatersrand (2008). She has a Master’s in Business Administration (pending conferral)
awarded by the University of Reading, UK through Henley Business School (2025).
Seejarim has held numerous solo exhibitions, the most recent of which was Unfolding
Servitude at Southern Guild Cape Town (2025). She has also presented solo exhibitions at
SMAC Gallery (Cape Town and Johannesburg), Kunstinstituut Melly. (Rotterdam), SCAC
Marestaing (France) and a traveling exhibition, Venus at Home (2012-2014), at Northwest
University Gallery, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Durban Art Gallery and the National Arts
Festival in Makhanda.
Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at Städtishe Galerie Bremen, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Dak’Art Biennale, Nirox Sculpture Park, FADA Gallery at the University of Johannesburg and Iziko South African National Gallery, among others.
Seejarim is a visiting Professor of Practice with the SARChI Chair in South African Art and
Visual Culture at the University of Johannesburg. She has received multiple awards, including the Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art’s SEED Award, Investec Cape Town Art Fair’s Tomorrow’s/Today Prize, and Ampersand Fellowship Award.
Her work is included in the collections of the Iziko South African National Gallery, Southern
African Foundation for Contemporary Art, Johannesburg Art Gallery, and Constitutional
Court in Johannesburg, among others.
labour and power through the transformation of everyday, domestic objects. By recontextualising materials such as irons, brooms, and wooden pegs, Seejarim’s sculpture
and installations destabilise normative associations of women’s work, reframing acts of care
and repetition as aesthetic and political gestures.
Born in Bethal, South Africa in 1974, the artist obtained a B Tech Honours in Fine Art from
the University of Johannesburg (1999) and a Master’s in Fine Art from the University of
Witwatersrand (2008). She has a Master’s in Business Administration (pending conferral)
awarded by the University of Reading, UK through Henley Business School (2025).
Seejarim has held numerous solo exhibitions, the most recent of which was Unfolding
Servitude at Southern Guild Cape Town (2025). She has also presented solo exhibitions at
SMAC Gallery (Cape Town and Johannesburg), Kunstinstituut Melly. (Rotterdam), SCAC
Marestaing (France) and a traveling exhibition, Venus at Home (2012-2014), at Northwest
University Gallery, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Durban Art Gallery and the National Arts
Festival in Makhanda.
Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at Städtishe Galerie Bremen, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Dak’Art Biennale, Nirox Sculpture Park, FADA Gallery at the University of Johannesburg and Iziko South African National Gallery, among others.
Seejarim is a visiting Professor of Practice with the SARChI Chair in South African Art and
Visual Culture at the University of Johannesburg. She has received multiple awards, including the Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art’s SEED Award, Investec Cape Town Art Fair’s Tomorrow’s/Today Prize, and Ampersand Fellowship Award.
Her work is included in the collections of the Iziko South African National Gallery, Southern
African Foundation for Contemporary Art, Johannesburg Art Gallery, and Constitutional
Court in Johannesburg, among others.