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The City of Gold
The city of gold is the theme for the body of the work, where I comment on how Johannesburg received the nickname and then focus on what individuals find valuable, to the same value as gold.
Body of work
Load bearing
A gouache painting that depicts a mining truck carrying a load of gold – This work alludes to how Johannesburg got its nickname. Being a city rich in resources, especially in the gold mining industry, earned the city its name. This work, the first in my body of work, introduces the theme and topic as a whole.
The smoke series
"When people zol"
Reflects back on the time when cigarettes were banned during the level 5 lockdown within South Africa; This ban affected many individuals and this work highlights how smokers were left feeling vulnerable without their fix.
"Smoking gun"
Has a sense of irony as the work was created from burnt gun powder and comments on the dangers of smoking, not only during the Covid-19 period but also the health dangers associated with smoking.
Sharing is caring
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Captures a scene of a hand slyly offering a cigarette to you; the viewer. This work comments on the under the table distribution of cigarettes that took place during the ban.
Fool's gold
A scene commonly observed on a daily basis on the roads of Johannesburg, of an individual dragging recyclable waste on a make shift carrier. Having sculpted this work with till slips, shows how Johannesburg was built on money and how its inhibitors live in a money driven society. This work again comments on what a resident of Johannesburg finds valuable, and alludes to the familiar phrase ‘one man’s trash is another man’s gold’.