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  • Q: A significant portion of your work is portraits of women, particularly Black women. Can you please explain why.
     
     A: I converse with women from the community where I live. They are like my sisters. We share a lot of things in common. The stories that women go through in their daily lives, which is what I focus on when I converse with them, is something that touches me. 
     
    Q: You use charcoal, and acrylic paint on canvas applied in the form of a wash, with the wash being a metaphor that signifies the harsh truths that women must continually wash away to forget daily experiences they undergo to move on. Can you please elaborate on this.
     
    A: I use wash to symbolise the tears shared between women and their misplaced and hidden identity. I come to the studio to sketch and I want to tell a story about the person when I sketch this person on a canvas. The way I am trying to paint is that I am trying to tell a story. Each mark that I apply on the canvas should represent something, be it positive or negative, that my subject goes through. 
     
    Q: Your colour palette is rather distinct, often moving between brown, pink and black. I read that this colour palette symbolises three things: womanhood, passing time and it reflects the time required for healing.  Why choose to represent these three elements with these colours in particular?
     
    A: When I started painting, I started with pink, then I shifted to black and brown. To me, black  represents Africa, but also suggests an element of etching. With pink, I wish to evoke the idea of femininity because I portray women and for the softness in my work. The brown is for healing. 
     
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  • Q: Why would you say that most of the portraits of the women you depict evade clear identification?
     
    A: The people that I meet in town come from different parts of the country. For example, I am based in Johannesburg and I meet people from Kwa-Zulu Natal, Cape Town and from outside the country like Zimbabwe, Lesotho. Others are strangers and do not know who to trust so I hide their identity. 
     
    Q: The portraits take on the shape of busts, and I read that this idolises eternal youth and the strength of ancient Roman and Greek statues. Why choose to idolise Western statues as opposed to those within Africa?
     
    A: When I started working in art, I saw images of the statues by great Masters, such as Leonardo Da Vinci  in art which are more recognised world-wide than African statues. However, my works can also refer to African sculptures, particularly the wooden ones. 
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