Van Lekker Lag, Kom Lekker Huil

Artists Statement for “Van lekker lag, kom lekker huil”

This semi-autobiographical scene is constructed from a staged miniature interior. The first in an ongoing series, the painting examines the distance between appearance and lived experience. It considers how moments of celebration can shift into sites of hostility, and how the aftermath becomes quietly denied, concealed, or absorbed into domestic life.

Familiar symbols of celebration—foil balloons, patterned hearts, and domestic comfort—persist after the event has passed, obscuring subtle traces of disturbance embedded within the room. Contrasting glossy reflective surfaces with a matt, absorbent painted interior, the work considers how intimacy may become performative, transactional, or quietly passive. The reflective balloons are rendered with heightened precision, contrasting with the looser, matt treatment of the interior. This disparity in painterly attention echoes the disproportionate care often invested in maintaining the image of celebration while lived experience remains obscured.

The morning light enters the room regardless of what happened. On closer inspection, incised slashes emerge from embedded layers of dried cold wax. Neither fully concealed nor fully revealed, they function as quiet traces of accumulated harm—never fully covered up. Rather than depicting conflict directly, the work explores the domestic interior as a site where material and emotional residue accumulates (and dissolves) as time moves on.