Description:
As part of a solo exhibition titled ‘Drawing Attention to Transformation and Regeneration’, which I held at the Pretoria Art Museum in 1994, I conceived and executed a symbolical portrait of Nelson Mandela, titled ‘REBIRTH’.
In the same year, ‘REBIRTH’ earned the ‘United Nations Art and Philatelic Award’, which I received in October 1994, at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, USA.
The detailed thought processes behind the artwork as well as that of the two additional portraits, are as follows. (All three portraits were exhibited at the U.N. Headquarters in 1994)
I found myself increasingly fascinated by the ‘conflict’ and paradox, surrounding Mandela. This political giant had spent 27 years, (during the prime of his life), jailed as a terrorist. Yet, the same man, earned the respect and admiration of the world …… he received the Nobel Prize for Peace!
In the painting, ‘REBIRTH’, this mental ‘conflict’ is symbolically represented as follows:
7 Yellow ‘Doves of Peace’ fly from left to right and a ‘Black Hawk’, swoops from right to left. Mandela’s head (the features highlighted in green,) acts as ‘arena’ for the ‘conflict’. At last, here is a MAN in whom the opposing forces are reconciled! These images are superimposed, one upon the other. If it were not for the three colors that differentiate the separate images, green, black and yellow (the colors attributed to the ANC), the artwork would simply be an unintelligible jumble of lines.
On closer inspection one notes that this image of Mandela subtly suggests the outline of Southern Africa and the wings of the doves and hawk that crown his portrait could well be ‘laurel leaves’. The talons and beak of the hawk are just outside of the main portrait and suggest that ‘force and violence’ no longer play a part in his life and only dynamic power and strength of character remain.
My daily search for and collection of positive words for ‘Precious Circle’, installed a habit in me that became a ‘blue-print’ for the way I conducted my life. I named it my ‘catch-of- the-day’.
Part of my daily ‘catch’ was the ‘word-of-the-day’ which Wikipidea delivered into my Inbox every day.
On the 16th May 2009, the word was ‘GREEN-MAN’, which describes ‘a sculpture, drawing or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves.
Primarily ‘GREEN-MAN’ is interpreted as a symbol of ‘REBIRTH’ or Renaissance, representing the cycle of growth being reborn anew each Spring . Remarkably, I was not aware of this concept until I read about it in 2009, although the painting was created in 1994! Uncannily my portrait of Mandela is predominantly ‘green’, the ‘feathers’ can be mistaken for foliage and most remarkable of all, it is titled ‘REBIRTH’!
Through these unexpected revelations I also become a student of my own work.
A comment made by a pastor from Soweto, moved me deeply. He was curious as to exactly how I had known that the ’Hawk' was a symbol synonymous with Mandela. However, I had not been aware of it and I was delighted when he carefully stated: ‘A hawk does not eat what it finds…it finds what it wants!’
Provenance
2014 Pretoria Art Museum
2013 November 5, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria
1994 October United Nations Headquarters New York USA.
1994 United Nations Art & Philatelic Award
1994 ‘DRAWING ATTENTION TO TRANSFORMATION & REGENERATION’ solo Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria
- Subject Matter: conceptual portrait
- Collections: MANDELA