Pamela Phatismo Sunstrum was born in Mochudi, Botswana. She lives and works between Toronto, Canada and Johannesburg, South Africa.
Sunstrum holds a BA in International Studies (Transnational Cultures) from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (NC, USA) (2004) as well as a Masters in Fine Art from Mount Royal School of Interdisciplinary Art, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore (MD, USA) (2007).
Sunstrum’s multidisciplinary work encompasses drawing and animation, and alludes to mythology, geology and theories of the nature of the universe. Her drawings – narrative landscapes that appear simultaneously futuristic and ancient – shift between representational and fantastical depictions of volcanic, subterranean, cosmological and precipitous landscapes.
Sunstrum has had a number of solo exhibitions including: There are Mechanisms in Place at Michaelis School of Fine Art (2018: Cape Town); Cape Town Art Fair 2018 (2018: Cape Town); Earth and Everything at Artpace (2018: San Antonio TX); Omphalos at the Interlochen Centre for the Arts (2016: Interlochen MI); Polyhedra at Tiwani Contemporary (2016: London); Beacon at VANSA, (2015: Johannesburg) and pamelaphatsimosunstrum at Conduit Gallery (2010: Dallas TX).
She has also featured in a number of group exhibitions including: Multiple Transmissions: Art in the Afropolitan Age at WIELS (2019: Brussels); Women on Aeroplanes at The Showroom (2018: London); Carry Over: New Voices from the Global African Diaspora at Smack Mellon (2018: New York NY); Drawing in/Drawing out: Contemporary Drawing at The Phillips Museum of Art (2018: Lancaster PA); ; 1:54 Film Programme, 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair at Somerset House (2016: London); Surface/Subtext at Everard Read Gallery (2016: Cape Town); Survey, with Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi at Brundyn Gallery (2014: Cape Town); de-con-structure with Leanne Shakenovsky at In Toto Gallery (2014: Johannesburg); and Double Feature with Kim Anno, curated by Joshua Goode at Tarrant County College (2014: Tarrant County TX).
Sunstrum has been awarded with the Brandywine Prints Workshop Young Artist Fellowship (2010: Philadelphia PA); Creative Alliance Multi Media Resources Project Grant (2010: Baltimore MD); Brenner Faculty Grant for Professional Development from the Maryland Institute College of Art (2010: Baltimore MD); and received a Full Fellowship from Vermont Studio Centre (2009: Vermont VT) and a Full Fellowship from the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2007: ME).
Her work has been featured in the follwing collections: Deutsche Bank Collection, Frankfurt, Germany; FRAC des Pays de la Loire Contemporary Collection, Carquefou, France; University of South Africa (UNISA) Art Collection, Pretoria, South Africa and; 12 Decades Hotel Main Street Life Collection, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Pamela Phatismo Sunstrum is featured in the Zeitz MOCAA exhibition, Still here tomorrow to high five you yesterday…