This series expresses the hopelessness facing many of this continent’s people. It covers the plight of women and children in so many parts of Africa, refugees, the so called “lost generation”, displacement, conflict, the spectre of joblessness and the big divide between 1st world/3rd world rich/poor in the continent.

To deal with these painful social issues, without making them too “in-your-face” to live with, I adopted a visual language, using running paint to depict social meltdown, and metallic foils to suggest that these people have value, even if the world dismisses them, or the 1st world element of the continent, in contrast with the poverty of the 3rd world life so many are struggling with.

Many of the women and children are depicted as faceless, because the rest of the world often sees them as nameless hungry masses, rather than unique individuals. The paintings celebrate the spirit of the children, who despite the terrible conditions so many live under, facing the bleakest of futures, still manage to embrace life with a dignity and cheerfulness.

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.