FAITH XLVII INTERVIEW
““This is my discovery of life, it is not just a career, so although the mediums and technique vary, there is a definite thread throughout.””
Through shrine construction, painting, projection mapping, video installation, printmaking, and drawing, your work examines the delicate and transient nature of human existence. What inspires this spirit of exploration, and what do you hope audiences experience through your willingness to move fluidly between so many different forms of expression?
It is easy for an artist to get comfortable in one way of working and then stick to that because it works. I get bored doing the same thing over and over. I need to be inspired and in order to keep my inspiration alive I am allowing myself the freedom to explore. I give space for the work to lead me. This is my discovery of life, it is not just a career, so although the mediums and technique vary, there is a definite thread throughout. The thread is something that I hope is true and sincere and will ultimately be something that brings me and my audience to new epiphanies and meditations. We are complex and intricate beings and so my practice must reflect that. Painting was something that happened to me by default. I love the medium, but once I started working in other mediums I found a new voice that not only enhanced the content of my painting, but rooted me deeply as an artist. The feeling you have when you become obsessed with a new project, the inspiration and love for the visual thematic and the exploration of a new body of work. This is what I need in order to continue so I have to keep open, looking forward, building internal fire throughout the process.
You have a remarkable ability to reveal beauty in the forgotten, the imperfect, and the overlooked, while reminding us of our shared humanity. Has this awareness always been part of who you are, or has it been cultivated through your experiences exploring different cultures and landscapes around the globe?
Growing up in South Africa was formative for me. I was deeply affected by the history and context of that country. The injustices and the inequalities cut deep. Its something that you can’t not see. At least I felt very strongly about it from a young age. You witness a lot of hardship and you realize early on that the world is not an easy place and that humans have the capability of being selfish and cruel and that economics come before humanity. We are subscribing to economic and political systems that are unwise, outdated and broken. Hegemonic cultures impressed on us from foreign sources often bypass the connection to our own value and worth. The dream of modern progress is in fact regression for us as a species there must surely be a dire need to reassess the current status quo.
There are however many solutions to the problems we are facing, new technology has many answers – universal basic income is a good example of workable solutions for the near future. If we could only dig deeper into ourselves and start altering our mindsets to be more inclusive, open to solutions, less separatist, less greedy, more engaging, less dogmatic. So this is a kind of Jungian shadow integration work. I’m not being puritanical about it I’m just observing it. Around me and also in myself. Seeing the physical debris of our steps to progress is interesting to me, that’s like a mirror. Trash, broken cars, homelessness, abandoned factories… Are these silent manifestations of our collective actions not speaking unbearably loudly to us about our trajectory? There is beauty there of course, with nurture all things are beautiful.
Your work is deeply rooted in both spirituality and the human experience, inviting us to look more closely at ourselves and one another. In these complex and fragile times, where do you envision your creative path taking you? What role do you hope your art will play in shaping a more connected and compassionate world?
One of the biggest challenges for me, and I’m sure for many people, is to keep one’s magic when there is all this flood of depressing and backwards politics and media. The agenda is warped and although we do need to engage in the issues of today, maybe it’s important to keep our poetry and creativity, to aspire to more as a species. To study the stars and science and the deep wells of our subconscious mind. In order to be a part of the solution, we have to envision the world we want and create that around us. Or so I was once told. So I’m looking for magic and it’s here, in the molecules and the atoms and every single passing moment of time. I’m looking for happiness and sustainability and deep connections and growth of spirit. I can’t say that’s easy, so I have to work on it, the intention is an important part of setting up a trajectory and the creative path is part of this journey for me.