THE REBUILT HORIZON
- Grace Remondo
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Translating Silence into Presence: Finding the Gold in the Rupture
Article by Grace Remondo, Visual Artist Photographer, Cape Town, South Africa
Art Background
I fell in love with photography very young. My father’s Canon camera and his slide projections on our dining room wall made storytelling feel magical. By sixteen, I was already pretending to be a photojournalist, determined to give voice to untold stories.
Years later, after moving to Cape Town, photography became both refuge and challenge. Encounters with artists such as Martin Osner and Lynne Kruger-Haye, and friendships through photography clubs, gave me technical grounding to pursue fine art.
For me, photography is more than capturing light; it is a way of bringing emotions to the unseen. My path has been marked by frustrations, friendships, and breakthroughs, leading me to embrace fine art photography as a medium for healing and advocacy.
Studio Process is an authentic image of me working on the mixed-media application for the portrait The New Pose, an upcoming project. The photo captures the full scope of my process, showing prints from The Rebuilt Horizon alongside my tools (mica powder, gold acrylics), reinforcing the physical nature of the Kintsugi repair metaphor. I am intentionally dressed in black to signify the work's foundation in protest and resilience.
A Normal Day as an Artist
I try to maintain discipline around creativity, viewing art as a calling that guides my day. Mornings are dedicated to conceptual work: writing, sketching, and linking words with images to solidify the narrative arc. Journaling helps me visualize the final image.
Nature adds essential depth to my inspiration. The light and rhythm of Cape Town’s vast landscapes spark each project. Afternoons balance technical time — processing, painting, and experimenting with materials— alongside administrative demands. Evenings are devoted to connecting with other creatives.
Theme and Inspiration
My central theme explores the journey from Absence to Presence — survival, renewal, and reconstruction.
I am deeply inspired by the Japanese art of Kintsugi, repairing broken pottery with gold lacquer, treating breakage as part of history rather than something to hide. In The Rebuilt Horizon, I combine landscape, portraiture, and craft to show that rupture and trauma are not terminal. The visual repairing of the portraits with gold seams transforms the wound into luminous strength.
My inspiration comes from South Africa’s GBV crisis. Through my frame I reveal that the rebuilt self carries greater strength and value than the self before the break.
The greatest sign of victory is not to hide the scars, but to illuminate them with gold. Showing those scars is breaking the silence, tearing down the lies, and walking towards triumph. The art becomes the physical, external proof.
Impact of Art on Life
Art was my response to an inner thirst I couldn’t explain for years. I found purpose when I understood that art is a calling, a medium of intended communication.
It changed my perspective, expanded my emotional expression, and deepened my empathy. Addressing societal issues through my lens gave me a better understanding of the world and connected me more deeply to community.
Conceptual fine art photography also gave me self-awareness and opened my eyes to hidden realities — like period poverty, which I discovered while researching menstruation. Art became both a mirror and a tool for service.
Difficulties and Hardship
Like most artists, my process has involved financial obstacles, but the deepest struggles have been psychological, the fight for self-acceptance and voice.
Artistically, the most difficult question I face is legacy: how to do more, how to bring something different. I measure the value of my work by the emotional response of viewers.
With The Rebuilt Horizon, the greatest test was translating silent, internalized pain into a visual language that feels authentic and empowering. The kintsugi philosophy transforms brokenness and restoration into a beautiful final vessel.
Best and Worst Experiences
My best experience was my first exhibition in 2022. The reward came from completing a complex project and watching people engage with it. That moment proved my voice deserved space and attention.
My worst trials revolve around commercial pressure to prioritize decoration over concept. The industry expects art to be beautiful and easy and devalue conceptual work by addressing uncomfortable realities. It is disheartening when a piece is rejected for being “too deep” or “too challenging.” I keep focusing on my mandate: my work must serve the survivor’s message before it serves the market.
Is the Artist’s Life Lonely?
I have been blessed not to suffer destructive loneliness sustained by strong creative communities.
Yet I recognize that solitude is essential to the creative process. It is the retreat where the artist listens to instincts, processes emotions, and finds a way to materialize inner visions. This solitude is not loneliness. It is necessary introspection, transforming silence into voice.
Current Work and Upcoming Events
I am currently working on The Rebuilt Horizon 2: The Universal Scars, which expands themes of resilience and rebirth beyond South Africa. I recently collaborated with an international model, using landscapes like the misty beaches of Melkbosstrand as metaphors for the continuous journey of self-possession.
I am also thrilled to announce that The Rebuilt Horizon has been selected for the Goddess Arts Mag exhibition and magazine feature in Germany. Looking ahead to 2026, I plan to launch Unframed—producing artwork from old, never-framed photographs—and begin a personal project on Gabonese traditional threading hairstyles, exploring cultural resilience and identity.
Figure "No Longer Silent," from The Rebuilt Horizon. This final portrait embodies the survivor's triumph and forward momentum, setting the stage for the project's expansion in The Rebuilt Horizon 2.
Website : www.dphotimages.com
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/graceremondo/
