Made In South Africa

ARTIST STATEMENT

When contemplating prayer, I am confronted by its immaterial nature. Faith cannot be held or seen; it is experienced as a presence that resonates within the body. This body of work draws from the musallah (prayer mat), an object that accompanies the five daily prayers and bears the traces of repeated acts of devotion. Though prayer itself leaves no visible image, the body continually imprints upon the fibers of the mat through movement, touch and presence. Blind embossing allows the imagery to emerge through subtle shifts of light and shadow rather than ink or pigment. The flowers reveal themselves gradually, requiring close attention from the viewer. This process mirrors the nature of faith itself: something not always immediately visible yet profoundly present. Responding to the theme Coming in from the cold, this work proposes warmth as more than a physical sensation. It is found in the quiet rhythms of prayer, in the softness of the familiar musallah beneath the body and in the shared traditions that connect generations of believers. In a world that can often feel uncertain, the prayer mat becomes both a sanctuary and a reminder that warmth is cultivated through faith, community and remembrance. On the flip side, the calligraphic cyanotype Eschatology reflects the decrease of energy and vitality as one begins to fall into slumber and succumb to weakness. The letters fade away and become illegible, like leaves falling off a tree during the winter.