Murae Van Reede Van Oudtshoorn is a London-based South African fine art photographer specialising in camera-less photography. She received a BA Hons in Photography from the Durban University of Technology, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

She moved to the UK in 2001, leaving photography behind to pursue a career in advertising. Years later, a close friend encouraged her to reconnect with her passion, helping her experiment with alternative processes such as manipulating and destroying polaroids.

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Murae began exploring with chemigrams during the COVID lockdown whilst also in recovery from an injury. The inspiration for her series titled ‘Creative Concussion’ stems from her personal experience with a concussion, prompting her to explore themes of change and impermanence. Each piece examines contrasts: light versus dark, order versus chaos, intention versus spontaneity. The final works resemble distorted faces, fragmented figures, and familiar forms not quite fully realised, almost dreamlike and surreal. These forms reflect the artist’s concussion symptoms, capturing a sense of disorientation and fluidity.

Through this series, viewers are invited to reflect on their own experiences with change and memory. By embracing both the beauty and chaos of the process, the artist invites the audience on a journey through time, memory, and transformation whilst rekindling a sense of childlike wonder.

Her work was first exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition in London in 2019.