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Artist
Statement
As a South
African and an exile from the injustices of the apartheid, painfully
and deeply, I have experienced a torn society. For ten years my
art became a form of soul searching, of personal creative discovery.
The piece constructed for this show is a culmination of those
years of struggling through the darkness, fear, and anxiety of
a turbulent society, before encountering a burst of light and
energy - the aura of renewal and rebirth. An important component
of my work is recycling and deconstruction, for abandoned objects
generate new life. In response to a jarring “Cry for Peace”
I have recreated an environment, making it an expressive space
in which I could personalize a journey through my life, layered
with memory and history.
Throughout this journey I have been sustained by threads of the
Tibetan philosophy of Shambala, learned from my father at an early
age. With Shambala V I readily entered an almost intuitive engagement
with the world of childhood. Photos of my own childhood an African
farm and of children’s drawings from my experience as a teacher
of children in America are intimate stories that intersect with
the broader movement of History. In assuming the role of a shaman
of Bushman trance performer, I can activate the magic of casting
spells over my heart, enticing the viewer to participate - from
walking through a labyrinth of sorrow, to discovering the joy
of rebirth and rejuvenation. Finally, in encouraging writing on
a large circular blackboard, the viewer expresses his own feelings
about the journey. Shambala V will become for them what it is
for me: spiritual and celebratory.
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