Dido Elizabeth Belle

STUDIO CLEARANCE SALE

Limited edition print of 20, printed on 305gsm Cotton Thread paper. Mounted on white mounting board.

BACKGROUND:

I want to share a bit of background on this piece and how it came to be. The keywords are: VOC, Jan van Riebeeck, Netherlands, Delft, Saartjie Baartman, Riches, Land Claims, Inequality, Racism, Looting, Gender Violence, Economy.

Blue is my favourite colour. And I love drawing patterns. Delft is thus something that is very beautiful to me as it combines both.

At one point I was helping my daughter study for History. They were learning about the VOC and how they sailed here and started conquering South Africa.

And I thought about Saartjie Baartman. How she was just an object they exported to their rich worlds to show what they discovered. In the age of Discovery. The ‘Golden Age’ as that period is often referred to. And many others like her.

Dido Elizabeth Belle (June 1761 – July 1804) was a British gentlewoman. She was born into slavery as the illegitimate daughter of a Royal Navy officer.

In current news there are people screaming racism and apartheid and give back our land. And that made me think that maybe Zuma was right when he said the trouble all started when Jan van Riebeeck came here.

Because how far back can we go to point fingers? At what point do we accept and start to move forward? Because you can’t move forward if you keep looking back.

I feel so sorry for all the people who were hurt and lost so much in this country’s history. People who still struggle. People who can’t afford food. It’s not fair, the world isn’t fair.

I decided to create a series of works which expresses all of these emotions and encapsulates a bit of how I perceive it.

With love and empathy.

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PRINT SIZES: 

A4 - 21cm × 29.7cm (excludes mounting/frame)
A5 - 14.8cm x 21cm (excludes mounting)

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Please note: Artwork images are shown as accurately as possible, but colours may vary slightly depending on your screen settings.

Mockup images are or illustrative purposes, and may not reflect the exact final appearance, framing, scale, or styling of the artwork.