Robin, Colbyn

On a walk one day, I picked up a dead sparrow. It was so exquisitely beautiful, that I simply had to immortalize it in some way. I drew its portrait in charcoal. Then I found a dead pigeon, and someone brought me a dead robin. As they became aware of my interest, other people started to bring me dead birds. This led to a series of ‘dead bird works’ in a variety of media. For me the little corpses became a symbol of all the beautiful and precious things that have been destroyed in our country. Crime, corruption, xenophobic attacks, unscrupulous politicians…South Africa is going through very difficult times. Our family farms have been lost in an (unjustified) land claim. My brother has moved to the USA, and young people are talking about emigrating. The once beautiful rural towns lie derelict and forlorn. Sometimes it is difficult to see anything positive in the doom and gloom. But then I was reminded of Job. Job lost everything, and yet he never sinned or cursed God, not even when his own wife told him to ‘curse God and die’. In the end, everything was restored to him. I do believe there is hope.