In the case of Alec Wek I use an image of a very popular model, a supermodel, she is larger than life, her face is all over the media. She is without doubt one of Africa’s most beautiful women but for me this painting is not about creating an image with a strong likeness. I dig deeper, I colour over the lines transcending the icon, the glossy, photoshoped, flawless, out of reach cover of a magazine women to someone more familiar, to something I believe we have lost touch with. True beauty is found in our humanity, our humanity is what connects us all, it is not selfish, it gives to everyone equally. It is said that beauty is in the eye’s of the beholder this means beauty is subjective. Humanity should open the eye’s of the beholder for him to see beauty. The disconnect with our humanity is a disconnect from our true selves, is a disconnect from others.
This is what this work is about, it is me wrestling with paint and the surface of a canvas to express something deeper. Under the surface is a longing for meaning, understanding and beauty.
