Burden Painting

Born in South Africa in 1977, creative expression has been central to my upbringing and enables me to express my philosophies on life and release the energy and emotions that I take on through engaging with others. Essentially, I believe that we are all a product of our surroundings and therefore exist as one collective energy. Without preconceived ideas, this is expressed through the largely subconscious use of texture, layering, fluidity, colour and contrast in non-literal figures to convey the elements and emotions present in each one of us that makes up the collective – the sum of the parts equals the whole. The vague, sometimes faceless and genderless figures suggest similarities that exist within us without predefined, stereotypical characterisation. The scenes, figures and colour choices reflect situations and emotions of my own as well as those I vicariously experience through others, and strives to show that our emotions, behaviours and actions impact everyone around us (the collective) because we do not exist in isolation.