NIRVANA | Body is released
Nirvana: a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. Also, a 90s rock band characterized by Grunge themes such as social alienation, psychological trauma, and a desire for freedom.
In the Buddhist tradition, Nirvana is the name of a transcendent state in which there is no suffering, desire, or sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. Outside of that tradition, Nirvana is also a 90s rock band characterized by “grunge” themes such as social alienation, psychological trauma, and the desire for freedom.
In 2019, my son had major brain surgery because he suffered from fatal focal seizures. The seizures demanded that we live in a state of emergency – a kind of disorder of anticipation of what could happen. Our freedom of movement was confined to the proximity of a hospital, and our feelings about interacting with people were always fraught with tension.
Since his surgery, my son has not had one seizure, but our lives, collectively, hace suffered another trauma: the world has experienced a pandemic. The world is in crisis, but our family is not. This inversion of states has resulted in the Nirvana series of paintings, which introspectively examine our state of family peace in a time of global stress. The works are an meditation on my and our rituals in the home, and as such they are an extension of our imagination during uncertain times: times in which, we relish the simple pleasures of being alive, of feeling lucky to be healthy and together.
We inherited a wondrous garden in our new home. Despite the challenges of confinement during the national “lockdown” and the overwhelming fear precipitated by the pandemic, our garden became a refuge, a space for healing our trauma. These paintings are born of our contradictory context of simultaneous happiness, boredom and anxiety and point to the fraught, bittersweet nature of suburban life in Johannesburg.
More works in this series
Impasse
Impasse, 2020, ink, acrylic and oil paint (193cm x 130cm)
An impasse is a blockage, a state of being unable to make any progress. This painting is about the moment in which imagination and reality open that blockage and your seemingly impossible situation becomes an adventure.This painting points to a moment in my life where my son and I began to play and connect. It was as if the space immediately surrounding us became electrified and we began to imagine a different way of being.
Portal
Portal, 2021, ink, acrylic and oil paint (168cm x 136cm)
This was the first iteration of the garden paintings in my Nirvana series and depicts a view from a window in my house. During lockdown I would work on my laptop, in front of this window, every morning. Soon I began to imagine that there might be something more beyond the palms. My son and I began to imagine a time warp in our garden, a hypothetical distortion of space-time in which people and events from one age can be imagined to exist in another age. Or, that I was in fact in the time warp and this was all an illusion in which time appears to stand still. The imaginary possibilities that the garden space presented became the portal through which we as a family began to heal.
Prices available on request, please get in touch if you are interested in exhibiting my work or to purchase directly.
Transition
Transition, 2021, ink, acrylic and oil paint on canvas
Transitioning… “period or phase in which such a change or shift is happening…to be at the cusp.”
Prices available on request, please get in touch if you are interested in exhibiting my work or to purchase directly.
Fever
Fever, 2021, ink, acrylic and oil paint on canvas (102,5cm x 73cm) FRAMED - available for purchase
A fever is a state of heightened or intense emotion or activity. This artwork evokes a feverish state of sensory overwhelm. The twisting luminosity of the Fever tree branches, together with the intense noice of the carpenter bees and the tick-ticking of the freshly rained-on electric fence precipitated this feeling. This painting takes stock of the sounds and sights of my immediate environment in suburban Johannesburg, a lush and precarious space in which nature and man-made materials compete for attention.
Running on the Verge
Running on the verge, 2021, ink, acrylic and oil paint on canvas (120cm x 200cm)
Every day I run. It is a ritual. I take my rings off before I run. I wear a cap so that I may appear neutral. I love to be out on the verge. I love to see the type of plants people plant around their houses. I take notice of the different wall textures as I run past them. I mostly wonder who lives behind the gates. I have to concentrate because the road is ever changing and mostly uneven. I greet everybody as I run past. I do this so that I both see and hear them… just in case. I am extremely aware of all the stops along my route where someone could help if I need.
Prices available on request, please get in touch if you are interested in exhibiting my work or to purchase directly.
Mama Precious
Mama Precious, 2021, ink, acrylic and oil paint on canvas
This portrait is a celebration of a healer. This is Mama Precious (Precious Sithole), a Zulu woman originally from Eskort in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Mama Precious manages to find joy in all that she does. She heals through her kindness and her empathy – qualities which are often an anomaly in our existing world.
Prices available on request, please get in touch if you are interested in exhibiting my work or to purchase directly.
The Guardians
The Guardians, 2021, ink, acrylic and oil paint on canvas
There are many years in this piece. There are the people who have nurtured and protected me. There is the adaptable creature that I worship. There is a precautionary warning to urge one to stop but a bubbling over which indicates one can’t.
Prices available on request, please get in touch if you are interested in exhibiting my work or to purchase directly.
The Weaver
The Weaver, 2021, ink, acrylic and oil paint on canvas
One day, my boring view was interrupted by the maniacal flapping of a weaver bird racing past my eyeline. He had probably been there for months but I hadn’t noticed. He quickly became a part of my/our daily routine. My children and I watched how he chose specific leaves and threaded them so proficiently. Indeed, we began to appreciate the nature around us which the garden facilitated so spectacularly but more than that, we began to appreciate each other. This simple collective family experience of such a seemingly mundane moment manifested a fleeting moment of joy. This is the feeling I want to remember. Joy.
Prices available on request, please get in touch if you are interested in exhibiting my work or to purchase directly.
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