• Q: Your work centres landscapes and figures, though leaning significantly more toward abstraction than representation as your work evolves. How does this constitute your subject matter? 
     
    A: Much of my work begins with no fixed agenda. I find that, by allowing the paint and the surface to dictate where I am going, it creates a freshness and authenticity that would not otherwise be there. Often I work over old work that still leaves visible traces of earlier forms, like a palimpsest.
     
  • Q: On your website, there is a quote that reads “it’s not about making a painting but rather about making space.” What do you mean by this statement? 
     
    A: By allowing the viewer to ‘see’ between the layers of translucent paint, the surface begins to vibrate. By abstracting the subject matter, there is space for the viewer to enter and find their own ‘story’.
     
  • Q: I read that you have a passion for alchemical processes. Can you please elaborate on this?
     
    A: Mixed media and play contributes to arriving at an unexpected conclusion that is difficult to repeat. This becomes alchemical because each time something new or different might emerge.
     
  • Q: In your artist statement on the series “Seen/Unseen”, you write about “plotting a spiritual cartography using paint.” Can you...
    Q: In your artist statement on the series “Seen/Unseen”, you write about “plotting a spiritual cartography using paint.” Can you please elaborate on the meaning behind this statement and would you say the intention of this statement echoes throughout your oeuvre? 
     
    A: My work is very personal. It is when the intellect quietens and the automatic/intuitive takes over. I found that my most successful work is often the pieces I struggle with the most
     
  • Q: The colour palette in your newer works differs considerably from your older works where you depicted more earth tones and now you depict more strong orange and crimson red tones. Can you share what was the catalyst for this change?
     
    A: Similarly to my painting process, the colours of my palette have matured. The iridescence and translucency of the paint is more vibrant and alive this way.

     

     
     
  • Q: Why are letters, maps, stamps and archival photographs incorporated into your work?

    A: They already have a story. I am merely adding my own narrative to that surface. To create a new experience, the viewer will hopefully make their own interpretation from this. My work is not prescriptive or defined. I want my audience to continue the narrative.

     
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  • Q: Can you say why you have experimented with many different media, such as painting, printmaking and photography, alongside transfers on steel and encaustic paint. Curious as to why not one medium? 
     
    A: The freshness of approaching a new series of work, using found objects such as archival maps or mild steel and wax, allows for something new and unique to happen. It is part of that alchemy.
     
  • Q: In your older works, dating back to the 2000s, you depicted migrant labourers, mineworkers and farmworkers are prominently featured in your artworks. Can you say what the inspiration for this was?
     
    A: Growing up in rural Natal, this was part of my reference for the people around me. I, too, migrated to Johannesburg in the early 80s  to ‘seek my fortune’ after I had completed my fine arts degree.