Artist

Dear Guest,

My story begins in South Africa, in a family shaped by survival and resilience. My ancestors endured the concentration camps of the British colonial era, and our family land was taken during turbulent times. From an early age, I learned that perseverance was not a choice — it was a way of life.

I grew up in a small fishing village by the sea, barefoot, fishing alongside local Coloured people. In that place, different cultures didn't just meet — they relied on one another. Those early years taught me how to live among diversity and to see complexity as a strength.

My mother, an artist from a family with a diplomatic and political background, taught me to paint and work with clay, shaping my sense of discipline and manners. My father, a man who loved the land, worked first in forestry and agriculture before becoming a businessman. He taught me to respect nature, to love trees, and to be honest in all dealings.

After high school, I left for London. By day, I cleaned and did manual work in the Underground; by night, I wandered the Tate Gallery, drawn again and again to Rothko and Monet. Around this time, I began studying theology and philosophy — ideas that still guide my art.

When I returned to South Africa, I found that doors often stayed closed to me because of my skin colour, even for a modest position like a librarian's post at the university. I am not someone to make a fuss about such things, so I turned instead to volunteer work — orphanages, children's homes, foster projects — and humanitarian missions in Zimbabwe during its most violent period. I went into areas where tribal conflict, organised killings, and political violence had left communities shattered. My goal was simple: to bring aid to children who had nothing. Those moments showed me both the darkest and the most unbreakable parts of humanity.

Through it all, I never stopped creating. Art became my refuge — the place where truth could surface. But over time, South Africa began to feel too small for what I wanted to explore. I longed for a different cultural world, one that could challenge and transform me.

I found that in China.

Here, the elegance of calligraphy, the textures of textiles and ceramics, and the flowing beauty of ink have all become part of my language as an artist. My work now carries both Eastern and Western thought, in conversation rather than conflict — a meeting of worlds shaped by experience, resilience, and beauty.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope that as you see my work, you see not just images, but pieces of the life that made them.