Ivonne Pietersen a personal view of familiar environments My portfolio comprises a number of interpretations which explore the more abstract qualities of everyday subjects.By removing the subjects from their external reality and placing them in a different context, their import is redefined. The idea of exploring the abstract qualities of my environment comes from both a strong sense of connection with the natural world and a curiosity about the reasons for people’s general perception of their world. I am particularly fascinated with the universality of forms and patterns, the mathematical precision and organization and with the interconnectedness of all forms of life. Different kinds of patterns are also evident in human behaviour and interaction, in the time sequence of events, in stories and mythology as well as in man-made objects. Each image reflects a moment of introspection. As I produce the individual prints I get a sense of emerging themes and cohesion in the images. This enables me to subsequently select and arrange images in a meaningful way which gives visual expression to an abstract idea or emotion and to a personal perception of the more abstruse aspects of the world around us.