Werxzovart, the pseudonym for artist Sonje Hibbert, was established in 1996, in an olde granite cottage studio, in a tin mining cliff side hamlet on the wild Atlantic coast of West Penwith, Cornwall UK.
The artist herself, was born in Scotland, on the outskirts of Glasgow in 1964, with family roots extending from the industrial townships & moorland valleys of the South Pennines UK, to the windswept archipelago of Shetland right up there in the North Atlantic Sea. A viking ancestry no doubt, however, Sonje was brought up and educated in Malawi & Hong Kong. With dirt road, dust filled, family car trajectories around South East Africa; an epic overland back to UK in a Peugeot estate in 1973; and later travels across West & East Asia, including Russia on the Trans Siberia Railway; these varied & tropical climes were the familiar until her mid twenties in 1990. Its safe to say a lot happened on this road well travelled, buoyed on from a childhood injected with extraordinary adventures to blow the mind! In 1991, after an additional five years global exploration; alternatively living, working and travelling in Israel, India, South East Asia through to Australia and NZ; a life changing road traffic accident in the UK brought sharper focus to pursue her artistic career; to nuture the creative expression that was powered by these inspiring escapades around the world.
Driven by unapologetic escapism from this increasingly uncompromising world; in full avoidance of becoming a beige domestic, or an indifferent barnacle in her rock obsessive mode; the creative expression unfurls as a narrative- through this nomadic modus operandi; an adventurous and continuing quest, seeking both long lost and ever evolving versions of self. By immersion in dramatic landscapes, either vast and barren, or geographically obscure, the relationship of place and emotion can only then be felt. Sometimes the artistic expression is an existential impression, sometimes not. The work offered is visceral, with personal & artistic boundaries being stretched at times in both: creating an arguably audacious, seemingly fearless, risk taking mode.
Working as an artist for over thirty years, with a solo showcase from 2013 -2021 in the very successful self owned Werxzovart Studio Gallery in Haworth, W. Yorkshire: artistic production focused on large-scale expressions, offering exaggerated ceramic representations of 'The Jug' alongside unique acrylic painted mixed media wall mounted contemporary designs. In addition to these, and since completing the Masters Degree in 2003, enthusiastic research has evloved around the language of the geology of clay. Creating pieces which are less about design of a styalised form and more about the manipulaton and receptive nature of this maliable substance and more recently where the organic material originates from. Complimenting these very sought after ceramics, the large acrylic painted wall panels feature natural elements taken from the land that inspired them. The work at times combining steel & ceramic: many are then framed with a considered brace of recycled lead. All of the unique artworks are highly collectable and which have been paramount in supporting this enigmatic & nomadic way.
2021-2024 inspiration is being nurtured, between adventurous overland trajectories across Central & Southern Africa, and retreating to the ancestral roots set within the fascinating geological phenomena of the northern most isles of the UK, Shetland.
SKETCHES FROM TRANS AFRICA 2023 NAIROBI TO VICTORIA FALLS OVERLAND
The studio gallery currently sleeps, however, artworks that are available can be viewed on this website under artworks for sale. All inquiries for art work purchase and travel updates most welcome, so please feel free to get in touch!
SKETCHES FROM SHETLAND 2022
