Buddha.

Buddha (mixed media)

Bennu.

Experimenting with acrylic.

(101955) Bennu (acrylic on canvas)

#288 and #289.

In October 2013 a boat carrying more than 500 Eritrean and Somalian migrants sank off the coast at Lampedusa, Italy. More than 360 people drowned. One of them, a young woman, drowned while giving birth to her baby. They were labelled victim #288 and #289. Her name was later found to be Yohanna.

Read this article about borders and identity by Frances Stonor Saunders:

For Yohanna. Art journal page.

Waiting for the light.

Journal entry after the Lily mine cave-in near Barberton. More than 80 miners were brought to safety, but three mine employees - Yvonne Mnisi, Pretty Mabuza and Solomon Nyarenda - were trapped in a container office that was swallowed by the massive sinkhole. To date they have not been rescued. Last signs of life were detected 20 days ago.

Medusa.

Art journal page - She was a Medusa of resentments ...

A Hoi Polloi Cabinet of Curiosities.

Submission for the Cabinets of Curiosities exhibition in December 2015:

 Statement:

This work addresses issues of exclusivity, value, wealth vs poverty, ownership, lack of access vs accessibility, privilege and status.

The original Wunderkammern were limited to those who could afford them, and thus were markers of privilege, status and exclusivity. Those who collected the ‘curious’ and fantastical objects were wealthy rulers, aristocrats and merchants – with the means and time to undertake expensive journeys  and travel trade routes.  The objects collected were exclusive, special and rare, and therefore expensive. Museums have become the modern cabinets of curiosities – where the ‘populace’ is admitted (at a price) and allowed to peer through glass at exclusive objects (but not to touch). Judgement is passed not only on the value of objects, but also on the status of the viewer.

I would argue that the curious detritus of modern industrial and technological society are no less fantastical and worthy of our attention and scrutiny.  Anyone can build such a collection – the objects are available to anyone for free, and no expensive journeys are necessary.

A Hoi Polloi Cabinet of Curiosities is totally accessible to the viewer, who may touch the objects. If the viewer so wishes, he or she may also remove a card with an object and take ownership.

At the end of the exhibition, 22 object cards had been removed:

The Man and the Log.

The Man and the Log
- A cautionary tale -

Once upon a time there was a man.
He was an intelligent, well-spoken, handsome and accomplished man.
One day he decided to go for a swim. "I deserve it," he thought. "I definitely deserve a nice swim."
"Oh, no," people warned him, "but do not swim here! There are dangerous currents in the sea here. Rather go to the beach further along the coast."
But the man was insistent. "I deserve a nice, cool swim," he thought. "And I deserve it right now. I won't go too far in so I am sure I will be okay."
And being a stubborn kind of man, he impatiently shooed away the people who tried to stop him and entered the water. He swam for a while and it felt good.
"Well," thought the man, "that just shows you that I know best. Just see what a lovely swim I am having!"

But the current started pulling him in, deeper and deeper, and within a short while he was in
trouble and couldn't see the beach at all.
"Help, help!" shouted the man.
But nobody heard him.
He was now in the open sea, kilometres away from land. Soon he was becoming tired and could hardly hold his head up.
"Help, help!" he shouted again.
But nobody heard him.
Then he saw a log drifting by and grabbed hold of it.
And so he floated for a day, holding on to the log.

After a while he saw a small fishing boat.
"Help, help!" he shouted.
The fishermen heard his cries for help and immediately rowed their boat right next to the man.
"Grab my hand," shouted the one fisherman, "and I will pull you on board."
The man held out his one hand but he would not let go of the log.
"Let go of the log," said the fisherman, "so that we can save you."
"No," said the man. "This is MY log, I found it and I won't let go of it."
"But don't you want to be saved?" asked the other fisherman.
"Of course I want to be saved," said the man crossly.
"Then grab my hand," said the fisherman, "and let go of the log!"
But the man refused. "I will NOT let go of my log!" he said. "I will not! It is my log!"
"You are not being very realistic," said the one fisherman.
"How can we help you if you do not want to let go of the log?" said the other one.
The man shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea," he said. "But I am sure you can make a plan."

The fishermen were bemused. "Well," said the one to the other, "there is no space on our boat for
the man AND his log."
"And the log is way too heavy," said the other fisherman. "Our boat will surely sink."
"Listen," said the man, "enough of all this talk. I am terribly hungry. There is no food on this log. Can you give me some food, please?"
And so the fishermen shared their food with the man.
"And I am thirsty. Can I have some water, please?"
So they gave him some water.
"And it would be really nice if you could hold an umbrella over my head. The sun is quite harsh."
So the fishermen held an umbrella over his head.

But it was getting later and later, and in the distance they could see storm clouds building up.
"Listen," they shouted to the man. "You need to grab hold of our arms and let go of the log right
now! We need to get to shore!"
But the man would not let go of the log.
"Let us save you," the fishermen pleaded with the man.
"Yes," said the man."I need to be saved. But if you think I am going to let go of my log you have
another think coming. Don't hold your breath!"
"Well," said the fishermen, "we need to turn back now."
 And with a sad wave they said goodbye to the man.

The man kept on holding on to his log. He was feeling quite bitter. "I do not deserve this," he
thought. "I need to be saved, and nobody is doing it."
Then he saw a shark, circling around him.
"Oh dear," he thought.
"Come back, come back!" he shouted to the fishermen. But they were long gone.
"Maybe I should have listened to the fishermen," he thought, "maybe they had a point."
The shark circled closer and closer.
The man held on to his log.
"Please don't eat me!" cried the man.
"Sorry, but I am hungry," said the shark, and proceeded to gobble him up, from his toes, right up
his legs, the  buttocks and waist and torso, the head, and finally the hands and fingers that
desperately held onto the log.

The shark burped and swam away.
And the log floated, bobbing up and down, up and down, until it disappeared on the horizon.

The End.
(© MS 2016)

Insomnia.

“O sleep! O gentle sleep! Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee, That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down, And steep my senses in forgetfulness?” (from Henry IV)

Insomnia (Oil on board)

Happiness.

The Smile.