Colubridæ
2011. Oil on linen canvas.
289 x 518 mm.
Private collection.
Colubridæ 2011. Oil on linen canvas. |
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------------------------------------------------------- About this work This was part of my solo show Assemblage at the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg in 2011. The snake is a specimen from the Natal Museum's wet collection. I was intrigued by the age of the specimen; it was collected in 1933, and yet remains well preserved. In contrast, the grapes are fresh and ripe but are left exposed. Without any scientific intervention to halt their decay they seem vulnerable to the ravages of time. And yet they are preserved by another means: by being painted. Here art mirrors science by capturing, exploring, and preserving something from the natural world.
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