Philippa Hobbs

Philippa Hobbs is a South African art historian, artist, and art collector. She was born in 1955 and matriculated at St Andrew's School in 1972. She studied art at the Johannesburg College of Art before finishing a post-graduate printmaking course at the University of the Arts (Philadelphia). She then furthered her studies through University of South Africa (UNISA) and the Technikon Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Hobbs was a professor of art at the Technikon Witwatersrand from 1979 to 1993, and also the Head of Printmaking there.

Quotes

• "The physical, conceptual, mental or temporal flexibility that the three projects propose de-construct the sacredness of national memory narratives (shaped strongly by collective traumas and their political exploitation)."
• " In the context of South Africa, these questions inevitably touch upon the political and historical disposition of the space, as the historical surroundings inform us on a traumatic past of apartheid."
• "Artistic practices of performance in contemporary art and theater, through reenactments, involve the public in activities that question the status quo, mobilize, and render visible that, which has been obscured by the official gaze."
  • Allwork, Larissa (2015). Performative Commemoration of Painful Pasts (PDF). Stockholm, Sweden. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
• "The past is part of our identity and eve as i sit in Europe thousands miles away from my country, my mind is focused on my ancestors, my past and my culture."