Burden

Sometimes a work sinks its teeth into you. It is like a fever. It is also like a stone in your belly. It breaks open your heart. It interrupts your sleep. It makes you cry. All important things to bring the truth to the work. South Africans will recognise this image - Hector Pietersen during the Soweto uprising in 1976.   And yes it is over the names of young black people dying in America now. The politics are different. The times are different. The circumstances are different. But the killing continues. I quote Nayyirah Waheed, whose poetry has been a spark to keep me going in this: ”have you ever heard a black woman weep over her skin-murdered child. it is the splitting of atoms. it is billions of voices screaming their children’s names.”
 
Dimensions: 120 x 100 cm
Medium: Mixed medium on XL stretched canvas