Ed Young (b. 1978) is a South African artist based in Cape Town, whose practice spans nearly two decades and includes a diverse range of media such as painting, sculpture, installation, video, performance, and writing. His conceptual approach addresses themes of identity, cultural critique, and social commentary, often exploring the complexities of contemporary life.
Recent solo exhibitions include *Works of Insignificance* at Suburbia Contemporary in Spinnerei Leipzig (November 1, 2024 – January 4, 2025) and *If Only I Liked You a Little Bit More and You Liked Me a Little Less* at Suburbia Contemporary, Barcelona (2024). Other solo projects have included *The Motherfucker* at the Loop Festival in Barcelona (2022), *HERO* at Open 24hrs in Cape Town (2019), and *Bad Taste* at the Cape Town Art Fair (2019).
Young’s works have also been featured in numerous group exhibitions, including *NO SHOW MUSEUM: From Dada to Nada* at Helmhaus Zürich (2019), *OUR LADY* at the Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town (2016), and *IMAGO MUNDI* at Fondazione Cini in Venice (2015). In addition, he has participated in key art fairs such as FNB Art Joburg (2024, 2023), Art Brussels (2024), and the Investec Cape Town Art Fair (2024, 2025). His work has been presented at renowned international venues, including the Armory Show in New York (2016) and Artissima in Turin, Italy (2015, 2016).
Young’s art is represented in prominent collections, such as the Iziko South African National Gallery, the A4 Arts Foundation, the Southern African Foundation for Contemporary Art, and the Luciano Benetton Collection at Fondazione Imago Mundi, Treviso, Italy. His work is also held by the NO SHOW MUSEUM in Zürich.
In addition to his exhibitions, Young has participated in artist residencies, including the INDEX: Freiraum-Stipendium in Zürich (2018) and the 25 Hours Hotel residency (2019). His special projects include *ALL SO FUCKING AFRICAN* at The Armory Show in New York (2016), where he explored African perspectives in contemporary art. Through these diverse projects and exhibitions, Young continues to engage with both global and local narratives in a compelling way.
The 2025 Helgaard Steyn Prize for sculpture: ED YOUNG – Other People’s Tears Are Only Water
Cape Town artist Ed Young has been awarded the 2025 Helgaard Steyn Prize for Sculpture for his work Other People’s Tears Are Only Water (2024) – a work that stood out for the judges amongst stiff competition.
The work consists of a fragment of an upright piano, purchased from the historic The Kimberley Hotel in Cape Town during the Covid lockdown, which has been cut down to measure a third of its original size, thereby revealing the inner workings of the instrument. Working in the tradition of the found object, Young has modified the original instrument by cutting it down and including a battery-operated mechanism that enables it to play a high E, thus creating what the artist refers to as the “rectified readymade”. This approach was pioneered by Marcel Duchamp, and has been absorbed into various aspects of contemporary art. The work consists of a fragment of an upright piano, purchased from the historic
The Kimberley Hotel in Cape Town during the Covid lockdown, which has been cut down to measure a third of its original size, thereby revealing the inner workings of the instrument. Working in the tradition of the found object, Young has modified the original instrument by cutting it down and including a battery-operated mechanism that enables it to play a high E, thus creating what the artist refers to as the “rectified readymade”. This approach was pioneered by Marcel Duchamp, and has been absorbed into various aspects of contemporary art.
The judges found the work gripping and commented on the successful nostalgic evocations suggested in the piece. The truncated form of the piano, complemented by the incessant sound of the high E, creates a dramatic and atmospheric experience. The work was described as embodying both outstanding craft and conceptual refinement, and hailed as a unique contribution to South African art. This year’s panel of judges consisted of Dr Louisemarié Combrink (chair) from the North-West University, Prof Janine Allen-Spies from the University of the Free State and Mr Andrew Lamprecht, a curator at the Iziko South African National Gallery.
“The work has a haunting quality that suggests both presence and absence – the piano and the sound it makes are present, but there is no pianist, so that the object and its audio gain a sense of agency – a not-so-silent ghost that reminds the viewer of the country’s past, where the original piano bears echoes of the artistic rendezvous at The Kimberley Hotel where it came from. In many subtle ways, Other Peoples Tears Are Only Water can also be understood as a requiem to the past, highlighting how disembodied memory can live on in the fragments of objects,” according to a statement from the judges.
The Helgaard Steyn Award is a prestigious annual award recognising excellence in four disciplines, alternating between musical composition, painting, literature and sculpture. Entries of work created between 2021 and 2024 were eligible for the prize, with Young being the 10th recipient of the sculpting award. Other People’s Tears Are Only Water ook beskou word as ’n requiem vir die verlede, wat beklemtoon hoe ontliggaamde herinneringe kan voortleef in die fragmente van voorwerpe,” lui ’n verklaring van die beoordelaars.
Exhibitions
2025 | Works of Insignificance – Ed Young. Spinnerei Leipzig
2023 | If I Only Liked You A Little Bit More And You Liked Me A Little Less Barcelona
Group Exhibition
2025 | First Words – Group Exhibition. Strauss&Co Cape Town
2025 | 04179 – Spinnerei Galleries Visiting the Wirkbau Chemnitz
2024 | IFESTILE – Bo Kaap, Cape Town
Festival
2022 | The Motherfucker – Ed Young. Loop Festival, Barcelona
Press
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