Artist’s statement by Danielle Malherbe

“Worthiness” has become a buzz word in popular psychology. The lack of a sense of worthiness seems to be an affliction that we all have to different degrees. “Childhood wounds”, another buzz word, and a sense of unworthiness seem to be intricately interwoven.

The only way that I know how to approach this crippling sense of unworthiness, is to create from a place of honesty and vulnerability. I have made two water-colour paintings of my daughter as a tender gesture of belief in her and as a simple apology for automatically and unintentionally passing on my “hurts” to her. I called the one painting “A girl” and the other “You are infinity”.

There is a small oil painting called “Shadowy reflection” which explores the shady recesses of the unconscious. It’s in these shadows that the sense of unworthiness dwells and lies in wait. It is through the act of painting these shadows that one loosens the grip of negative preoccupations.