FROM SOUTH AFRiCA’S EASTERN CAPE TO LONDON, TAMMY MACKAY’S ART CARRiES MEMORY AND HiSTORY.
Inspired by a childhood shaped by freedom, nature and long days outdoors, Tammy Mackay’s work is deeply informed by the animals and nature of the Eastern Cape in South Africa, where she grew up. It was, by her own description, a stable and special childhood, one defined by independence, curiosity, and an unsupervised closeness to the natural world. Those early experiences continue to echo through her practice today, even as her process and references have evolved.
Although born in Cape Town, Tammy grew up in the Eastern Cape and stayed there for university, remaining in familiar surroundings throughout her education. After graduating, a desire to see more of the world pulled her further afield. She came to the UK for what was meant to be a year. Now, more than thirty years later, she’s still here. Her sense of personal identity, of carrying a place within you while living somewhere foreign, has become an important undercurrent in her work.
“i’VE DiVED iNTO MY CHiLDHOOD AND PULLED THiNGS FROM THERE.”
While her imagery is rooted in childhood memories, Tammy’s approach today draws on a wide range of sources and materials. Rather than drawing directly from life, she works extensively from museum models, archival photographs and historical sources. Animals such as the dodo, for example, are constructed through a long and considered process: multiple reference images are merged into a single drawing. One photograph might inform the outline of the animal and several others might contribute to the texture and detail. She thinks about her subjects for a long time before committing to them on paper.
PRiNT MAKiNG CAN BE UNPREDiCTABLE, “YOU DO WHAT YOU CAN,” TAMMY SAYS, “OR YOU START AGAiN.”
From that initial pencil drawing, Tammy moves into printmaking, a process she fell in love with at school, where she was lucky to have access to extensive art departments. In her final school years she studied both painting and printmaking, discovering a particular affinity for etching that she knew she needed to pursue.
Tammy creates photopolymer prints from her original drawings, using light-sensitive plates to transfer each image onto a printing surface. She then prints the work on an intaglio press. Tammy explains the balance between intention and chance in this part of the process. Certain plate sizes respond better to specific papers, inks behave unpredictably, and prints don’t always emerge as expected. Sometimes something simply doesn’t feel right, and sometimes a small change, such as a different ink colour or paper, transforms the work entirely. Sometimes what initially feels like a mistake allows the work to go in a new direction. “You do what you can,” she says, “or you start again.”
“THE THRiLL OF PULLiNG THAT FiRST PRiNT iS A KiND OF MAGiC”
The thrill of pulling the first print, which Tammy describes as “a kind of magic”, is foundational to her practice. The satisfaction comes from discovering what she has made, and learning a process so thoroughly that it becomes instinctive.
Tammy’s journey into animals came about from a time of personal grief for Tammy and her family. This period of time made her increasingly reflective on personal history and what it means to belong. One drawing from this period depicted a rhinoceros running behind her daughter, symbolic that wherever we go, we carry our identities with us. This kick-started her passion for capturing animals, a focus that has continued to develop and expand.
Tammy’s dodo prints are deeply personal, the earliest iterations were linked to family histories of loss - deaths in Burma and the Boer War. The extinct bird became a symbol not only of personal grief, but of historical erasure: the stories, archives and knowledge that disappear when people die. “You lose more than the person,” she reflects. Tammy’s work explores the idea that people take their stories with them.
During the COVID lockdowns, as the world contracted, Tammy became increasingly aware of the subtle rhythms of the natural world in her immediate environment. Like many of us, confined locally, meant she observed the day to day patterns of nature, including geese and their goslings, and the small but significant changes that occur over time. One day there were six goslings, the next day there were five.
Tammy recalls an encounter with a customer at an art fair early in her career. An interior designer purchased a print from Tammy not for a client, but for herself. After buying the work, she shared the advice she gives her clients: do not worry about the room, buy the thing you love. Ten years later, when they met again, Tammy admitted she had been using that motto ever since. Choose what you love. She does not have specific expectations for how people respond to her work, but she hopes viewers will recognise the skill and craft involved. If the work is authentic, Tammy knows the right people will find it.
Studio days are structured for Tammy, often beginning with a walk, which she finds helps her get started. The printing process requires the most careful organisation. Preparation can take half a day, and printing itself is hard work, so she avoids scheduling printing on consecutive days.
“WHEN i FiRST ARRiVED AT PiCCADiLLY CiRCUS i THiNK MY MOUTH WAS PROBABLY COMPLETELY OPEN. i HAD NEVER SEEN ANYWHERE THAT BUSY”
London continues to amaze Tammy. She still remembers arriving at Piccadilly Circus for the first time, overwhelmed by the scale and energy, a world apart from her rural upbringing. She is constantly inspired by the city’s cultural offerings, making sure to attend exhibitions, theatre, and dance performances. Having studied art history in South Africa, Tammy explains that she had few opportunities to see original works, whereas here they are part of everyday life.
Tammy Mackay’s work is a celebration of curiosity, observation, and the enduring connections between people, animals, and place. From her early days in the Eastern Cape to her life in London, she has carried her experiences with her, letting them shape both the subjects she chooses and the care she brings to her process. Her prints invite viewers to slow down, notice the small details, and consider the histories and stories embedded in the world around them. Through patience, skill, and an engagement with memory and nature, Tammy creates work that reminds us to pay attention, to cherish what we love, and to carry our stories with us.
