Marsi Van De Heuvel: An Artist’s Journey To Find Belonging In South Africa

Inspired by the lives and photos of people during a time of extreme segregation, Marsi van de Heuvel’s art shows our connection across cultures today.

Marsi’s artistic identity is undeniable – she grew up in her mother’s art classroom, trained at the Ruth Prowse School of Art, and has exhibited solo internationally. Her cultural identity, however, is more complex. “I feel like I can't belong to one thing because I'm made up of so many different things,” she says. 

Marsi is mixed-race, or ‘coloured’ under the definitions that classified South Africans during apartheid. “I started thinking about my family's history after the passing of my father,” she says. “I was exploring my belonging and trying to shed light on neglected narratives.” In tracing her family’s heritage, Marsi discovered invisible threads of connection. 

Among them were her grandmother’s photographs, taken by Movie Snaps Studio, showing friends on Cape Town’s streets from a time when other public spaces were off limits to people of colour. This type of street photography is one many South Africans of that generation would be familiar with. “It didn't matter where you came from, what you believed, or your skin colour, anyone could have their photo taken,” Marsi says.

Through her latest series of paintings, ‘Movie Snaps’ presented by Church Projects in collaboration with Goodman Gallery, Marsi is honouring the subjects of these photos. “This body of work is a celebration of ordinary photographs that would otherwise remain invisible,” Marsi says. Each piece includes faded, blurry, ambiguous features, with negative space for different viewers to place themselves and their families in.

As South Africans, who we are is not a single narrative. Marsi’s work acknowledges the multiple facets that shape our stories. “I want my art to encourage people to think about their own sense of belonging,” she says. At a time of growing division across the globe, it’s more vital than ever to remember not just where we come from, but what connects us.