War, Conflict & Politics
This ongoing series examines the effects of conflict and war, and the need to bridge the divides we construct between ourselves. It all started in 2007 with a black and white painting, with one red poppy, called “lest we forget.” It evolved with variations on the theme, until a series with block patterns emerged, symbolising both chess (a war game) and the chequered flag (winner takes all.) The poppies were a reminder of the cost in human life, metal foil to denote the things one holds valuable enough to fight over and as usual, the running paint spoke of social meltdown.
The latest variant to emerge from the war series is a softer one, perhaps not so much war per-se, but any conflict or dispute, and it reminds us that there is never only one side to any story. It may look cut and dried as the parties square off across a boundary, often with obvious differences on the surface, but there is seldom one side that is all totally good, and the other totally bad. There is a need to look for common ground in order to seek a resolution to conflict.
One can’t really look at social issues without also looking at racism, cultural conflict, political abuse of power and the slow erosion of our hopes for a Democratic South Africa. Some of these paintings, like ‘We Lose them They Expand’, and ‘The Prodigal Son’ depict actual events from those dark apartheid years.
Lest We Forget
One of the first paintings in this series
We Lose Them, They Expand
1000 x 1000 mm oils on canvas