Description
This mixed media collection, is a tactile display of my lived experience that may also resonate with that of others. Each mixed media piece merges an organic appearance with sculpted textures and painted canvas. The composition is mainly divided into two contrasting zones. The background represents the vulnerability, depth, challenges and, most importantly, the beauty within our inner person and the foreground is a barrier to represent how we present to the world.
The Background
First, the background features earthy tones with bursts of colour, coming from prints made using blister packs. A personal touch is added by using my personal medication packs, which I use to manage chronic illness and also mental health support. I apply these prints expressively and intuitively consequently giving a loose resemblance to dried flower petals. This gives a nod to decay, life cycles and beauty, which adds to the meaning behind the piece.
The Foreground
In contrast, the foreground displays a textured off-white surface. I create it using a blend of acrylic paste, crumbled paper, and heavy paint. This surface evokes natural elements like bark, stone, or weathered walls. It adds a sense of tactile softness and depth. Symbolically, it forms a thick barrier—separating the viewer from the beauty behind it. Much like how people build emotional walls to protect their vulnerability and insecurities.
The Focal Point
A border of raffia bursts through this divide. It acts as a central focal point—a literal and metaphorical seam between the two textures. This dynamic feature acts as a bridge between the two and zones, resembling an emergence of our inner person and a uniting of what we show to the world and what we hide from the world. Furthermore, the raffia represents nature’s raw power pushing past life’s rigid boundaries as we break through societies rigid boundaries that we, in fact, do not fit into.
Expressive marks and raw appearance express a blend of intuitive abstraction and environmental connection. The straw-like textures and rough paper echo the traditional artisan crafts found across my home country of South Africa, that bring me all the joy.
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