About the Artist — Jualanne Onofri

I am Jualanne Onofri, a professional architect by training and a creative at heart. I have always been drawn to the endless possibilities of making, exploring and imagining. Whether I am painting, drawing, experimenting with a new medium or looking at the world through a camera lens, I find my greatest happiness in the creative process itself.

Although I enjoy exploring a wide range of artistic mediums, oil painting and pen drawing remain my favourite forms of expression. Leave me in an art shop with time to browse, discover and dream, and I am quite possibly in heaven!

Photography is another enduring passion, particularly wildlife, architecture and portraiture. My two beautiful daughters are often my muses, reminding me that sometimes the most meaningful subjects are those closest to us.

My happiest places are wherever I am surrounded by family, whether on a sun-drenched beach or beneath the vast African skies of the bushveld. These places bring me a profound sense of belonging, but they also remind me how fragile our natural world has become. The devastating effects of pollution, climate change and the exploitation of our natural resources weigh heavily on my heart.

I am inspired by the wonderfully imaginative world of Roald Dahl, both his stories and his illustrations, as well as the enduring message expressed through his character Matilda: "Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world."

It is a sentiment I hold close. I believe that art can do more than decorate a space; it can tell stories, evoke emotion, draw attention to the things that matter and perhaps encourage us to see the world a little differently.

Through my art, I hope to share something of the way I see the world: its beauty, its vulnerability and its extraordinary capacity to inspire us.