Human Presence Studies - Three Early Concept Sketches

These three sketchbook pages record an early sequence in the development of Human Presence Studies.

They are working documents rather than finished artworks. Their importance lies in the movement between them: beginning with an external influence, testing what it makes possible, recognising what does not belong, and reducing the composition until a more independent direction begins to emerge.

Project: Human Presence Studies - Concept Sketches 1–3
Archive number: PL-HPS-DRW-2026-0830-001
Date: 30 August 2026
Status: Working / Concept Development
Studio: Pieter Lategan | STUDIO
Location: Pretoria, South Africa

Studying Influence

These drawings arose partly from my study of Yayoi Kusama’s sustained development of repetition as a visual vocabulary.

The purpose was not to reproduce her visual language. It was to consider how an artist can return to a limited group of forms over time and allow them to carry increasingly complex ideas.

The three pages record what happened when repetition was introduced into my own developing study of the human face - and what became clearer when much of it was removed.

IMAGE 1 - PAGE 251

Concept: Concept Sketch 1
Archive reference: PL-HPS-DRW-2026-0830-001 - Page 251

The first concept begins with a simplified human face surrounded by repeated circles and dots.

At this stage, repetition operates as an open question. The page asks whether the relationship between the face and its surrounding field could begin to communicate presence, memory and silence.

The figure remains visible, but the surrounding marks have not yet found a necessary relationship with the person. The page records the starting influence and the first attempt to test it.

IMAGE 2  PAGE 53

Concept: Concept Sketch 2
Archive reference: PL-HPS-DRW-2026-0830-001 - Page 53

The second concept introduces a stronger gaze and a denser patterned field.

The human presence becomes more direct, but the repeated pattern also becomes more dominant. This creates a useful problem: the pattern begins to compete with the person rather than deepen the experience of the face.

That tension made something important visible. Repetition alone does not create meaning. When the surrounding pattern becomes too insistent, the human being risks becoming secondary to decoration.

This page therefore records both development and resistance. It shows what the borrowed visual device could do, but also where it began to move away from my own concerns.

IMAGE 3 - PAGE 54

Concept: Concept Sketch 3
Archive reference: PL-HPS-DRW-2026-0830-001 - Page 54

The third concept removes most of the repeated dots.

What remains is a human face, a large enclosing form and a quieter field of negative space. The composition becomes less decorative and more structural.

The face is no longer surrounded by an equal field of repeated marks. It is held in relation to containment, scale and emptiness. The enclosing form begins to operate almost architecturally: not as decoration around the person, but as a spatial condition pressing upon, protecting or containing the human presence.

Of the three pages, this becomes the strongest bridge toward my developing language of Human Presence Studies, Silent Monumentalism and Gravitas.

The important discovery was not the addition of another device. It was the recognition that something needed to be removed.

Toward an Independent Figurative Language

The future direction is not centred on repeated dots as a signature device. It is centred on human beings: faces, figures, hands, posture, weight, emotion, presence and memory.

Negative space, containment, scale and silence may provide the structure, but the human experience remains the subject.

The drawings will now lead into further studies of the figure and the ways in which a person can occupy, resist or be held within a larger visual field.

The technique is the foundation.
The human experience is the subject.
Meaning is the destination.

These pages do not claim that the visual language has been resolved. They preserve the moment at which one possible direction was tested, questioned and reduced - and another direction began to become visible.

Continue Exploring

Read Figure Study - Improving Line Quality and Rhythm with the FORCE Method for an earlier study of rhythm, movement, weight and the expressive human form.

Read Kailasa Temple - Subtractive Architecture and the Development of Silent Monumentalism for related research into removal, mass and negative space.

Read About Silent Monumentalism for the broader studio framework.

Pieter Lategan | 30 August 2026
Pretoria South Africa

Gravitas Packaging - The First 3D-Printed Architectural Chamber

 

Pieter Lategan Gravitas Packaging - Digital 3D Model Preparation

Pieter Lategan Gravitas Packaging - Creality Print Setup

Pieter Lategan Gravitas Packaging - 3D Printing Workstation

First Physical Print of the Gravitas Packaging Prototype — PL-GRAV-PKG-20260815-001

Pieter Lategan Gravitas Packaging - First 3D-Printed Box Prototype

Pieter Lategan Gravitas Packaging - Sliding Lid and Sculpture Fit Test

Pieter Lategan Gravitas Packaging - Open Box with Sculptural Objects

This first packaging prototype was developed and manufactured in the studio as a two-part 3D-printed system: a contained box and a separate sliding lid. The design moved from a digital model in Creality Print to a physical print on the Creality Ender-3 V3 KE. A narrow opening in the lid assists with its movement and removal, while the simple rectangular form keeps the structure quiet, direct and free from decorative hardware.

Inside, the two gold-toned Gravitas sculptural blocks are placed together within a single volume so that proportion, access, fit and presentation can be assessed. The light-coloured print is a working prototype rather than the final finish. The box is not treated as an afterthought or a decorative container; it becomes the first architectural chamber for the objects, extending the material language of Silent Monumentalism | Gravitas into their protection, handling and presentation.

Archive number: PL-GRAV-PKG-20260815-001
Project: 3D Printed Gravitas Box Development
Object: First packaging prototype
Components: Box base and separate sliding lid
Archive rule: The box and lid share one archive number because they form one packaging system
Status: First working prototype
Date: 15 August 2026
Studio: Pieter Lategan | STUDIO
Location: Pretoria, South Africa

Continue Exploring: Gravitas Desk Sculptures

Gravitas Football Trophy - Temporary Assembly Study with a 3D-Printed Figure and Cement Blocks

 

Gravitas Trophy Prototype Assembly - Cement Base and 3D-Printed Figure

Gravitas Football Trophy Temporary Assembly - Opposite Front View

Gravitas Football Trophy Temporary Assembly - Side Profile View

Gravitas Football Trophy Temporary Assembly - Overhead Placement View

Temporary Assembly and Figure Placement Study

This temporary assembly study tests a possible football trophy composition using a white 3D-printed figure and two separate cement blocks.

The football figure stands on a circular printed base positioned on the lower horizontal block. A second vertical cement block introduces height, architectural mass and a visual counterweight to the movement of the player. In several views, the raised arm of the figure meets the vertical block, allowing the relationship between movement, contact and material weight to be studied.

This is not the final trophy design or the final product photography. The individual components have been placed together temporarily to evaluate scale, direction, proximity, balance, stability and visual tension. The final attachment system, surface treatment, colour, engraving and presentation have not yet been determined.

The study examines whether the movement of a figurative sports element can be held within the quieter and heavier geometric structure associated with Gravitas and Silent Monumentalism.

The visible contrast between the smooth white 3D print and the porous cement surfaces is also part of the material test. Later prototypes may explore a matte graphite or restrained bronze finish for the figure, together with more controlled connections between the printed and cast components.

Concept and design direction: Pieter Lategan

3D printing and technical testing: Anton

Project: Pieter | TROPHIES

Location: Pretoria, South Africa

Status: Temporary assembly test — not the final design

Previous Development Study

Gravitas Academic Monument — Plastic Shell and Cement Fill Study | click here

Refining the Gravitas Desk Sculpture | Belt Sanding and Material Preparation

 

Belt Sanding Process for a Gravitas Desk Sculpture

Material Preparation for a Gravitas Desk Sculpture

Belt Sanding Process for Silent Monumentalism Desk Sculpture

Pieter Lategan
Gravitas Desk Sculpture I
Archive No. PL-GRAV-2026-001

I am preparing the surface of the Gravitas desk sculpture blocks by working them slowly against the belt sander. This is not just sanding for a finish; it is part of finding the correct edge, weight, and surface before the object becomes final.

The process is controlled and physical. Each side, corner, and mark matters because the object depends on silence, structure, and material presence. This is part of the development and manufacture of the Pieter Lategan | Silent Monumentalism / Gravitas desk sculpture series.

Pieter Lategan | 13 July 2026 Pretoria South Africa

Desk Sculptures | click here to read more

Men | Sleeveless Jacket - Wearable Prototype & Final Fit Evaluation | Pieter Lategan

Archive Number:

PL-FASH-MW-JKT-2026-0704-001

Current Pattern Number:
PL-M-001-PAT1

Development Status:
Wearable Prototype / Fit Evaluation - Not Final

Next Pattern Revision:
PL-M-001-PAT2 - proposed after collar and final fit corrections

Designer:
Pieter Lategan

Studio:
Pieter Lategan | FASHION

Location:
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

Category:
Menswear / Jackets / Pattern Development / Wearable Prototype / Fit Evaluation

Moving from Pattern Development to a Wearable Garment

This entry documents the next stage in the continuing development of my men's sleeveless jacket.

The project began as a sketchbook study for a slim-fitting sleeveless canvas or denim jacket with a front zip. It then progressed through pattern development, an inexpensive fabric prototype, fitting studies, revised pattern construction and the development of the internal facing.

The photographs in this entry show the first fully assembled wearable version of the jacket.

Although the garment can now be worn and evaluated on the body, this is not yet the final version of the design and PL-M-001-PAT1 is not yet the final production pattern.

Wearable Prototype Evaluation

Producing a complete wearable version makes it possible to evaluate aspects of the design that cannot be fully understood from a flat pattern or dress-form fitting alone.

The garment can now be studied from the front, side and rear while being worn over another layer.

This stage allows me to evaluate:

• shoulder position;
• armhole shape;
• chest and body ease;
• front opening and zip placement;
• side profile;
• back balance;
• jacket length;
• movement;
• neckline and collar construction;
• overall proportion.

Collar Revision Required

One area still requires further development.

The current collar and neckline construction does not yet produce the result I want for the finished jacket.

I therefore regard the collar shown in these photographs as part of the development process rather than the final solution.

The collar construction will be reviewed and the relevant pattern pieces will be altered before the final pattern is completed.

This is an important reason for documenting the garment at this stage. The photographs preserve a clear record of what was constructed, how it fitted and which areas required further development.

Pattern Development Continues

The current pattern remains:

PL-M-001-PAT1

After the collar, neckline and any additional fitting corrections have been resolved, I intend to redraw and document the revised pattern.

The next completed pattern revision is intended to be archived separately as:

PL-M-001-PAT2

The final pattern will also be photographed and added to the online sketchbook once the development work has been completed.

Front Wearable Prototype View

Front Fit Evaluation - Men's Transition Layer Jacket Prototype

Front Wearable Prototype - Fit Evaluation

This photograph documents the front view of the first wearable prototype of the men's sleeveless jacket. The garment is being evaluated for overall proportion, shoulder position, armhole shape, centre-front zip alignment and body fit. The collar and neckline shown here are still under development and will be revised before the final pattern is completed.

The front view records the overall silhouette, centre-front zip, shoulder position, armhole relationship and the way the jacket sits over a long-sleeved base layer.

Side Wearable Prototype View

Side Fit Evaluation - Men's Transition Layer Jacket Prototype

Side Wearable Prototype - Fit Evaluation

This photograph documents the side view of the men's sleeveless jacket wearable prototype. The side profile is being evaluated for shoulder placement, armhole shape, garment balance, body ease and overall length. The photograph also records how the jacket sits over a long-sleeved base layer. The collar and neckline remain under development and will be revised before the final pattern is completed.

The side view provides an important record of the jacket's balance and proportion when worn. It allows the relationship between the front and back panels, armhole, shoulder and lower edge to be evaluated before the next pattern revision.

Rear Wearable Prototype View

Rear Fit Evaluation - Men's Transition Layer Jacket Prototype

Rear Wearable Prototype - Fit Evaluation

This photograph documents the rear view of the men's sleeveless jacket wearable prototype. The back is being evaluated for shoulder balance, upper-back width, body ease, waist shaping and overall length. The image also records how the fabric behaves across the middle and lower back when the garment is worn over a long-sleeved base layer. These observations will be used when refining the pattern before the final version is completed.

Development Rather Than Completion

This stage is important because a garment should not automatically be considered complete simply because all of its pieces have been sewn together.

The purpose of the wearable prototype is to identify the remaining differences between the pattern on paper and the behaviour of the garment on the body.

The collar still requires correction, and further observations from these photographs and wear testing may result in additional refinements.

Only after those changes have been completed will I regard the pattern as the final developed version.

Permanent Development Record

This page continues the documentation of the same jacket originally recorded under:

Archive Number: PL-FASH-MW-JKT-2026-0704-001

The project is being recorded from its first sketch through pattern development, prototype fitting, construction changes, wearable evaluation and eventually the final pattern and completed garment.

The purpose is to preserve not only the finished object, but also the decisions, corrections and practical development that produced it.

Pieter Lategan
Pieter Lategan | FASHION
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

Continue Exploring This Jacket Study

Read the Men's Sleeveless Canvas Zip Jacket Concept Study | click here

Read the Men's Jacket Development and Prototype Pattern Fitting Study | click here

Read the Men's Sleeveless Jacket Pattern Construction and Inner Facing Study | click here

Read the Men's Sleeveless Jacket Wearable Prototype and Fit Evaluation | You are here

Return to Pieter Lategan | ART | return to the main blog

Handwritten Text - Page 241

@pieterlategan.co.za Kailasa Temple India. Part 4. A monument created by removing stone, where mass and empty space become equally important. #kailasatemple #elloracaves #Argitecture #pieterlategan original sound - Pieter Lategan Artist & Writer

 

Kailasa Temple at Ellora - What Was Removed Became Part of the Architecture

Archive Number: PL-SB-AS-2026-08-10-001

Kailasa Temple, India
TikTok Video / Instagram
Part 4

This is Part 4 of my Kailasa study at Ellora in India.

What fascinates me about this monument is that it was not built by adding stone. It was created by removing stone from a massive rock formation.

The builders worked with the existing mass and gradually revealed architecture, open space, columns, halls and sculptures.

That changes the way I think about architecture.

The empty space is not simply empty. It is part of the design.

What was removed became just as important as what remained.

And that leaves me with one question:

Can removing something create more meaning than adding something?

Pieter Lategan
Tell me what you think in the comments.

10 August 2026 - 21:19 PM
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

Continue Exploring This Study

Read Kailasa Temple, India — Part 4: Architecture Created Through Removal | You are here

Read the Kailasa Temple — Subtractive Architecture and Silent Monumentalism Study | click here

Figure Study - Improving Line Quality and Rhythm with the FORCE Method

FORCE Figure Study - Rhythm, Gesture and Confident Line

Archive Number:
PL-SB-FS-2026-08-10-001

Today’s figure drawing practice focused on improving line quality, rhythm, movement and confidence through the FORCE approach to figure drawing.

I worked from the Proko lesson “Improving Line Quality and Rhythm — FORCE Series Part 1.” Rather than concentrating on detail, the exercise encouraged me to look for the direction of movement through the body, the relationship between curves, and the way a line can communicate energy and weight.

One of the most useful aspects of this study was becoming more conscious of how a line begins, travels through the figure and connects one form to another. I am trying to move away from hesitant, fragmented marks and towards lines that feel more intentional and rhythmic.

This forms part of my continuing daily figure-drawing practice and my broader study of gesture, structure and the expressive human form.

Reference lesson:
Proko — Improving Line Quality and Rhythm — FORCE Series Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyuCq6VWVeA

I am documenting these exercises in my Sketchbook as a record of continued learning and artistic development.

Pieter Lategan | South African Artist & Designer

Kailasa Temple - Subtractive Architecture and the Development of Silent Monumentalism

The TikTok video below records part of this ongoing research and reflects on the relationship between the Kailasa Temple, subtractive architecture and my developing artistic research.

@pieterlategan.co.za #kailasa #temple #subtractive #silentmonumentalism #PieterLategan ♬ original sound - Pieter Lategan Artist & Writer

This video forms part of my continuing visual and architectural research into the Kailasa Temple at Ellora, India. What interests me most is the extraordinary subtractive process through which the monument was carved directly from living rock. Rather than constructing the building by adding material, the architecture emerged through removal - a process that transforms absence, mass and excavation into monumental form. The study has become increasingly important to my development of Silent Monumentalism, particularly the relationship between weight, stillness, carved space, shadow and the presence of architecture that seems inseparable from the landscape itself.

For me, Kailasa is not simply an historical monument. It demonstrates how architecture can emerge through subtraction rather than addition, and how enormous visual power can be created through restraint, mass and the controlled removal of material. These ideas continue to influence my research into sculpture, architecture and Silent Monumentalism.

In the Kailasa Temple, removal does not produce emptiness alone; it reveals sacred space within mass.

- Pieter Lategan South Afican Artist and Designer.

Continue Exploring This Study

Read the Kailasa Temple - Subtractive Architecture and Silent Monumentalism Study | You are here

Read Kailasa Temple, India - Part 4: Architecture Created Through Removal | click here

Anton | Liefling - Keyboard Cover | Home Music Session

 

Anton | Liefling - Keyboard Cover

In this home music session, Anton performs his own keyboard interpretation of “Liefling,” a well-known South African song associated with Gé Korsten. Recorded at home in Pretoria, the performance forms part of Pieter Lategan | Sketchbook’s growing collection of art, music, design and entertainment created within our everyday creative environment.

Why News About Moroccan Migration Inspired My Study of Moroccan Art, Design and Craftsmanship

Video source: TikTok - @wm_uk
Used as a visual research reference for artistic and educational study.

This visual research note began with a TikTok video illustrating a migration route from Fnideq in Morocco towards the Ceuta border. The video encouraged me to look beyond the news story and begin studying Morocco’s art, architecture, patterns, design traditions, craftsmanship and visual creativity. This page records the starting point of that wider artistic investigation and forms part of my ongoing sketchbook research.

For more | click here

Untitled Figure Studies — Gesture, Rhythm and Movement - 3 August 2026

 

Untitled Figure Study I - Pieter Lategan, 2026 | P36

Archive number
PL-SB-FS-2026-08-03-001

Untitled Figure Study II - Pieter Lategan, 2026 | P37

Archive number 
PL-SB-FS-2026-08-03-002

These untitled pencil studies form part of my daily figure-drawing practice. The drawings explore gesture, rhythm, balance and movement through loose, searching lines. The simplified figures lean, bend and interact across the page, allowing me to study the flow of the body, the relationship between forms and the expressive possibilities of movement.

- Pieter Lategan 

Morocco Today - A Land of Extraordinary Craftsmanship and Human Stories

Royal Mansour Casablanca - Traditional Moroccan Palace Architecture

Royal Mansour Casablanca - Handcrafted Moroccan Interior

Photographs used under licence from MegaPixl.

Morocco continues to inspire me as an artist.

The country is home to some of the world's finest traditional craftsmanship, where architecture, carved plaster, woodwork, stone, textiles and geometric design are still created by highly skilled artisans. Places such as the Royal Mansour demonstrate what is possible when centuries of craftsmanship are preserved and celebrated.

Royal Mansour Casablanca is part of the Royal Mansour hotel collection, owned by the Moroccan Royal Family. The hotel reflects a long-term commitment to preserving Morocco's architectural heritage and traditional craftsmanship. From carved plasterwork and geometric ornament to handcrafted wood and stone, local master artisans have played a central role in creating an environment where luxury is expressed through skill, patience and material excellence rather than excess.

As an artist, I find this dedication to material, structure and patience deeply inspiring.

At the same time, Morocco is also part of an ongoing humanitarian story that extends far beyond architecture. In recent days, thousands of migrants have attempted to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, many believing they would be able to enter Europe more easily after misleading information spread through social media and smuggling networks. Tragically, lives have already been lost during these dangerous crossings. The situation is complex, involving humanitarian, political and economic factors.

For me, these two realities exist side by side.

One speaks of human creativity.

The other reminds us of human vulnerability.

As artists, architects and designers, we should continue to celebrate craftsmanship while never forgetting the value of human life.

- Pieter Lategan | 1 August 2026 - Pretoria South Africa

Morocco Today - From Royal Mansour Craftsmanship to the Spain Migration Crisis | 1 August 2026

A brief news report documenting the humanitarian situation at the Morocco–Spain border. This video follows my study of Morocco's remarkable architectural heritage, reminding us that every country holds many different human stories.

Video source: TikTok – The Times. Shared for commentary and discussion.

Great architecture preserves memory. Great craftsmanship preserves culture. Compassion preserves humanity.

Handwritten Notes by Pieter Lategan - Royal Mansour Casablanca Hotel, Morocco (Page 216)

Page 216

Archive Number:
PL-SB-RN-2026-0808-216

Title:
Handwritten Notes by Pieter Lategan - Royal Mansour Casablanca Hotel, Morocco

Handwritten Notes by Pieter Lategan - Morocco, Migration and Human Stories (Page 217)

Page 217

Archive Number:
PL-SB-RN-2026-0808-217

Title:
Handwritten Notes by Pieter Lategan - Morocco, Migration and Human Stories

Continue Exploring This Study

My interest in Morocco also inspired one of my own artistic figure studies.

Moroccan Priest | Pieter Lategan - 2026

This project explores posture, structure, quiet presence and the foundations of my developing practice of Quiet / Silent Monumentalism.

To continue exploring the study | click here

Explore my wider research into Moroccan art, architecture and craftsmanship | click here