Artist Statement

Preserving the Memory

I am endlessly fascinated by the buildings, shops, bioscopes, and general dealer stores scattered across South Africa—especially those of the Western, Eastern, and Northern Cape, the Eastern Free State, and the Karoo.

In the early 1970s, fearing they might soon be demolished, I began to photograph these buildings in my hometown of Worcester. The supermarket was coming to town; television was about to make its presence felt. I wanted to preserve their memory.

Finding a South African Voice

In trying to establish my voice as a painter, I realised that the everyday buildings of my youth meshed with my desire to create something essentially South African. This concept crystallized after my first trip to Europe in 1974. Upon returning to Cape Town, I realized how extraordinary the local townscape was compared to its European counterparts. Influenced by the photo-realism movement of the time, I began using my photographs as the foundation for my work.

The "Anti-Architecture"

My paintings are not about architecture in the formal sense—structures that have been "designed." Instead, they are about buildings that have grown and matured over time. I look for the ravages of alteration, the amusing quirks, and the eccentric bits and pieces added by owners.

The process begins with the camera. If no one else recorded the building at that time, that moment in its life is unique. The photograph preserves the memory, and the painting distills it.

Absence as a Presence

I try to create paintings that possess an intensity. I have been told that my images seem frozen, eerie, or surreal. In my opinion, this comes from the absence of living elements.

This is a deliberate omission to draw attention to the buildings themselves. The facades become a kind of portrait. I want the viewer to concentrate on the structural detail, the advertising, and the lettering. The strong South African light, casting sharp shadows and textures, is emphasized to express something of the people who lived and worked there—without them actually being present.

Realism and Evolution

Over the years, my painting style has loosened. I now place more emphasis on brushstrokes and paint texture than in my earlier, hyper-realistic works. However, I remain a realist. It is the only approach that allows me to convey my message, because in realism, the weight of every element counts.

Ultimately, my aim is to create a painting that makes a statement about a specific place that existed at a specific moment in time.