Simon Attwood

Simon Attwood (b.1997) is a young artist interested in the plants, trees, wild animals and landscapes of Mpumalanga. Attwood collects skulls, snares and skeletons of animals found during anti-poaching work and includes them in his subject matter. He has a keen interest in the indigenous plants and trees of Ehlanzeni which strongly inform his imagery.

He engages with a variety of media including works on paper, charcoal-making, bronzes, fibres, animations and paintings. Linocut is his favourite printmaking technique. He has returned to and developed his use of the medium since first getting excited about it in high school.

He completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio (with distinction) from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA in 2022.

Attwood has exhibited work locally and internationally in the SAIC FALL 2021 Undergraduate Exhibition, Artbash 2018 in Chicago, USA and the Diaspora exhibition at the White River Gallery in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Watch Simon Attwood's animations:

The Scavengers of a Broken Country, Milk the Snake, Flight Path and others

Simon Attwood's Monotype Prints

Simon Attwood's Print Archive

New Editions from The Artists' Press

For orders (with free shipping) or any other enquiries, please contact us.

Simon Attwood We walk in the clouds lithograph

Title: We Walk in the Clouds
Medium: Three colour lithograph, 16 panels adhered to fabric base
Size: 91.5 x 122 cm
Edition size: 35
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"This print is of the landscape west of Acornhoek, looking past the branches of an ancient Marula tree towards the dramatic edge of the Mpumalanga escarpment. This is a special place for me as I have been involved in several field trips helping researchers study a miniature African violet (Streptocarpus decipiens) that grows above the cliffs. When one ascends the mountain, it is often the case that you walk into the clouds and mist which provides water vital for the survival of this tiny plant and everyone downstream of it. I have also spent some time studying and learning about the rock art of the Motlatse River Canyon and recently visited a painting site occupied by illegal artisanal miners. On the walls of the shelter, and over ancient rock paintings they had written a poem in wax crayon, one line of which was ‘retsamaya marung’ – we walk in the clouds. We all walk in the clouds, some to extract gold from rocks and others to learn about the rich history and biodiversity of Mpumalanga". Simon Attwood, 2023

South African art nightjar bird print limited edition signed by Simon Attwood

Title: Naguiltjie (Nightjar)
Medium: Single colour chine collé linocut
Paper size: 39.5 x 57 cm
Image size: 30 x 47.6
Edition size: 20
Price: R 3 800 (excl. VAT)

"Tierboskat and Naguiltjie are linocuts of the shadows of a roadkill serval and nightjar melting into the ground. The twilight call of a nightjar always brings me back to the granite hills of the Mpumalanga Lowveld. Naguiltjies are generally quite shy and keep away from people. The print is a tribute to this often-heard but rarely-seen, elaborately plumaged bird. Seeing them up close is remarkable. They look like strange tiny owls with the body of a hawk. Nightjars are particularly susceptible to being hit by cars as they often sit on the road at night and are slow to fly off." Simon Attwood, 2023

South african art South African wildlife limited edition artwork Simon Attwood lino

Title: Tierboskat (Serval)
Medium: Single colour chine collé linocut
Paper size: 39.5 x 57 cm
Image size: 30 x 47.6
Edition size: 20
Price: R 3 800 (excl. VAT)

"Tierboskat is a print of a serval. A scarce and threatened species that also often slinks by unseen. They are attracted to roads where they might find rodents hit by cars to score an easy meal. They move fast and are the same colour as the winter grass, making them vulnerable to collisions with nighttime traffic. The animal in this print had been hit by a car on the N4 near Delmas and had been dead for quite some time when I spotted it. The grass next to the road was recently burnt, and the serval's fur was singed in places, thus blurring the separation between animal and veld. These prints capture that striking, transient moment when their brilliance hovers before being lost forever." Simon Attwood, 2023

Title: Bitis
Medium: Single colour chine collé linocut
Paper size: 39.5 x 57 cm
Image size: 30 x 47.6
Edition size: 20
Price: R 3 800 (excl. VAT)

"Bitis is a continuation of a series of linocuts dealing with roadkill in South Africa. The scientific name for a puff adder is Bitis arietans, which is where the title comes from. This specific snake was one I saw hit on the side of the road near Sudwala caves. Snakes and puffadders in particular are vulnerable as they lack the speed to escape cars hurtling along our roads. People also purposefully aim for them. Despite being lethally venomous they are not a huge threat to people and play an important role in balancing our ecosystems by making sure that populations of rodents and other prey do not explode. I have encountered hundreds of snakes in the veld and they always want to keep out of your way rather than attack and bite. They are beautiful creatures and need to be looked after, rather than targeted!" Simon Attwood, 2024

Title: Scurry
Medium: Single colour linocut
Paper size: 57 x 76 cm
Edition size: 25
Price: R 4 500 (excl. VAT)

"Scurry is an extension of my previous linocuts, Spotted and Constellation. As part of my degree, I have been studying rock paintings in Mpumalanga. During the pandemic, I visited a rock art site with my mother. Upon entering the shelter she asked me if we would run into any porcupines and I reassured her we would not, considering that I have never seen them on foot. Moments later a mother porcupine and its offspring came scurrying out from a tunnel under the rock. Fortunately, they ducked back into another burrow instead of picking a fight with us. This linocut is a meditation on that experience. There is so much we think we know, but often what we think will happen is not very accurate. The porcupine embodies this. With putting camera traps up on our property some unexpected visitors included a pair of porcupines. The image that this linocut is based on was taken with a camera trap in the reedbed of a river near where I live."
Simon Attwood, 2021

Title: Spotted
Medium: Single colour linocut
Paper size: 54 x 105 cm
Edition size: 25
Price: R 4 900 (excl. VAT)

"In this linocut, I have continued my exploration of infrared camera trap imagery, which translates well into the medium of relief printing. The title ‘Spotted’ is a play on the physical appearance of a genet’s pelt and the mark-making technique I used to create the piece. For this print, I chose an image of a large spotted genet from Eswatini, that I photographed using a motion-triggered camera trap when I was studying there. This linocut is a small celebration of the wildlife that lives around oneself, unnoticed most of the time. Until I started using camera traps to see what walks around at night, I had no idea of the number of genets and other nocturnal creatures that lurk in the shadows of the spaces we inhabit." Simon Attwood, 2021

Simon Attwood Charcoal Maker linocut 2022

Title: Charcoal Maker
Medium: Single colour linocut
Paper size: 51 x 44.5 cm
Edition size: 20
Price: R 1 800 (excl. VAT)

"Charcoal making is a big part of my practice. When I started making linocuts, I also started experimenting with making charcoal using a kiln welded by my high school’s priest. Since then I have taught myself the ins and outs of the process and made drawing charcoal that has been enjoyed by many artists including Sam Nhlengethwa, William Kentridge, Diane Victor and Hanneke Benadé. This print is a self-portrait of my shadow carrying sticks across the dry winter veld to make charcoal." Simon Attwood, 2022

Title: Skinner
Medium: Five colour lithograph
Paper size: 43 x 29.8 cm
Image size: 35 x 25.5
Edition size: 25
Price: R 3 500 (excl. VAT)

"Skinner is a metaphorical self-portrait. Outside of making artworks, I often spend time scavenging and collecting the remains of dead creatures. These remains are precious to me and are symbolically significant because they previously held the life and consciousness of another being. Some of the bodies that I find are fresh, casualties of snares left by poachers or of collisions with reckless drivers. In these cases I often peel off the pelt and preserve it in an act of tribute to the beast that once occupied it. In this print I look at the act of skinning both literally and metaphorically as a way of forming my identity and of paying a visceral tribute to the past." Simon Attwood, 2020

Title: Point of Disorder
Medium: Eight colour lithograph
Paper size: 64 x 85 cm
Image size: 57 x 77.5
Edition size: 25
Price: R 5 800 (excl. VAT)

"I had several concerns that were at the back of my mind while making the print. These concerns carried on looping back to the idea of morality and limits. "Point of Disorder" alludes to the heavily used phrase 'point of order', words that are issued after a tipping point has been reached in parliamentary meetings. I am more interested in the 'point of disorder' itself, the point at which chaos wins, the point at which the tables turn and a moment in time when the laws of nature take over the laws of humans. I also pose a series of questions with this work: at what point does an action become immoral? Where is the line drawn? Is eating meat moral? If yes, is hunting moral? If yes, is hunting to extinction moral? We often draw the lines at questionable places and the lines of this image question those decisions.The choice of the dark-capped bulbul head is symbolically important to me, it is the bird that alarms other birds to the presence of a snake. Growing up, I learnt to be cautious of its racket. The bulbul is symbolic of warning and danger."
Simon Attwood, 2019

Title: Cable Ghost
Medium: Cliché verre chine collé lithograph
Paper size: 44.2 x 34 cm
Image Size: 33.7 x 26.2 cm
Edition size: 15
Price: R 2 700 (excl. VAT)

This print refers to the snares that are constantly set by poachers in the veld and which Attwood finds and removes as often as he can. Sometimes he is too late and the animal has rotted away, leaving it’s bones behind.

Title: Poacher's Adversary
Medium: Maniere noir lithograph
Paper size: 39.5 x 48 cm
Edition size: 45
Price: R 2 500 (excl. VAT)

“Trees are an important part of the landscape that I call home. I spend hours exploring the veld and enjoying their presence. Sometimes these hours are interrupted by the discovery of snares set by clandestine poachers. After the snare has killed its catch, the body lies there for hours. During this time vultures and other scavengers can reclaim that which is naturally theirs. The vulture is the poacher's adversary. It can alert authorities to the presence of a poached animal and can also steal back that animal. This print pays tribute to the work of the vulture and the magnificence of its perch, a weathered Marula tree." Simon Attwood, 2019