My work over the last six years has focused on street life and street trade in the various South African cities. My subjects are the people who live, work and walk on the streets of South Africa’s major city centers. Street trade forms a large part of the informal working sector in South Africa. Unfortunately not all cities in South Africa recognize the importance of this employment sector in providing many lower economic and refugee families with a source of income. Through my work I try to depict the sense of humour, colour, vibrancy, chaos, diversity and uniqueness that the street vendors bring to each city center but also to subvert stereotypes of street people as beggars and misfits – a nuisance to the utopia ‘we’ seek to create. My hope is always to capture the dignity and ability of human beings to survive despite every circumstance. Although I work predominantly in oil painting and mixed media work, I have combined various art techniques to form my installation and site-specific work, always in an attempt to push the boundaries of painting.
