Influencing society through art.
VotedRunner-up in the 2009 Sasol New Signatures Competition has extended thefootprint of 43-year-old, Amita Makan as a talented artist in South Africa.Makan’s full-time career in art catapulted to new heights since her piece, Loose Ends: A Story about My Mother wasexhibited at the Pretoria Art Museum during September 2009. Sasol NewSignatures Competition is one of the longest running and most prestigious artcompetitions in the country, offering emerging artists a platform to showcasetheir passion, capability and creativity. “Beingawarded such recognition became a part of my identity, opening up doors andsecuring great opportunities to further my career and work. This was a boost tomy confidence and I am truly grateful,” says Makan. Makanbelieves that the recognition she received from Sasol was instrumental insecuring her first solo exhibition entitled “Evanescence” at the KZNSA Galleryin Durban in May 2010. In March 2011, she took the same exhibition to the RonBelling Gallery in her hometown, Port Elizabeth. In July 2010, Makan wasapproached by the South African National Visual Arts Association (SANAVA) toparticipate in a group exhibition to be held in India, and was one of only 40 artistsselected. In Maythis year, her monochromatic oil portrait of Miriam Makeba was purchased by theUniversity of South Africa (UNISA) to be on permanent display in the Dr MiriamMakeba Concert Hall. This work was inspired by the biography, “The MiriamMakeba Story: Miriam Makeba in conversation with Nomsa Mwamuka”. Makan addsthat the full series will be exhibited at the UNISA Gallery in October thisyear as part of the Artist@work exhibition that will be curated by BonganiMkhonza. Makan’swork is inspired by her life experiences, her imagination and photography. Herfirst series, Evanescence emerged from the grieving for her mother who sufferedfrom Alzheimers Disease. The series took three years to complete and sadly,Makan’s mother passed away in 2009, shortly after her being placed runner-up inthe Sasol competition. Makanbelieves that if you are passionate about making a career out of art, you musthave the courage to test oneself by exhibiting your work. She strongly encouragesemerging artists to enter the 2011 Sasol New SignaturesCompetition. “As an emerging artist myself, I encourage artists to nurturetheir ideas, persevere and pursue their passion,” she remarks. SouthAfrica is a vibrant, dynamic, complex and multifarious society. Makan believesthat South Africa’s democracy is maturing and this is reflected in the arts. Anartist can engage in society by delivering a critical view of social andpolitical issues and by providing people with different lenses with which toview the world. “Art isuniversal, transcending boundaries of language, culture, nationality, class,race and gender,” concludes Makan whose combination of painting and embroiderywill be talked about for years to come. ENDS. For media related queries contact: Nothemba Noruwana,Acting group communication managerDirect telephone +27 (0)11 441 3295 | Mobile +27 (0) 82 329 0186> Cobus Jansen, CommunicationmanagerDirect telephone +27(0) 11 441 3218 | Mobile +27 (0) 82 410 6882> www.sasol.comSasol isan energy business with substantial chemical interests. Based in South Africaand operating worldwide, Sasol is listed on the NYSE and JSE stockexchanges. We are the leading provider of liquid fuels in South Africaand a major international producer of chemicals. Sasol uses proprietaryFischer-Tropsch technologies for the commercial production of synthetic fuelsand chemicals from low-grade coal and natural gas. We manufacture morethan 200 fuel and chemical products that are sold worldwide. In South Africa wealso operate coal mines to provide feedstock for our synthetic fuels plants.Sasol operates the only inland crude oil refinery in South Africa. The groupproduces crude oil in offshore Gabon, supplies Mozambican natural gas toend-user customers and petrochemical plants in South Africa, and with partnersinvolved in gas-to-liquids fuel joint ventures in Qatar and Nigeria. Internet address: http://www.sasol.comDisclaimer — Forward-looking statementsWe may in this document makestatements that are not historical facts and relate to analyses and otherinformation based on forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts notyet determinable. There are forward- looking statements as defined in the U.S.Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as”believe”, “anticipate”, “expect”,”intend”,”seek”, “will”, “plan”, “could”,”may”, “endeavour” and “project”and similarexpressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, but arenot exclusive means of identifying such statements. By their very nature,forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, bothgeneral and specific, and there are risks that predictions, forecasts,projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. If oneor more of these risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions proveincorrect, actual results may be very different from those anticipated. The factors that could cause ouractual results to differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations,estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements arediscussed more fully in our annual report under the Securities Exchange Act of1934 on Form20-F filed on September 28, 2010 and in other filings with theUnited States Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statementsapply only as of the date on which they are made and Sasol does not undertakeany obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of newinformation, future events or otherwise.
