An email to Portia Zvavahera. Endeavoring to work with artist that inspire me
By: Justin Williams
Didn't really know what to share this week. In turn, an update. Lately i've been hyper focused on helping others, when it's time to turn my energy inward. A wave of exhaustion overtakes my creative spirit.
To overcome to block, I worked on an advanced painting research assignment vigorously in search for inspiration. Four hours, two shots of expresso, and a playlist later. I came across Portia Zvavahera on https://news.artnet.com/
The piece " this is where I traveled" is absolutely intriguing. It's almost as though the artist scrambled to manifest an abstract thought into reality before the memory evaporated. Her mother had a dream that five people attempted to hang her daughter. The protective mother thereafter sacrificed herself, giving her life up instead of Portia Zvavahera's. During the artist' initial rendition of the dream, her mother broke her knee. Which resulted in a second painting that aimed to evolve the nature of the five men from malevolent to an uplifting redemption.
Portia Zvavahera, This is where I travelled [4] ©Portia Zvavahera. Courtesy the artist, Stevenson, Cape Town and Johannesburg, and David Zwirner.
Dreams amount for the unearthly abundance of unfiltered emotions that are unspoken during daily consciousness. A transcendent bridge between an ether and physical reality. This piece represents a bridge between the danger of a mothers dream and a gifted daughters blooming artistic career. The work is governed by that golden ratio, which adheres to the fibonacci sequence. The artist wants to allow the viewer to un-veil earthy existence. And dive deep into the metaphysical dream world and explore its relation to reality.
Henri Mattise created a work which describes the simplistic yet intrinsic connection bewteen mother and offspring called " Maddonna and Child". Science and art go hand and hand. The book " The Wu-Li masters" attest to their relationship. Surrealist artist Salvador Dali once said " Like Frued and his fellow surrealist, he considered dreams and imagination as centered rather than marginal to human thought."
The lines are blissfully energetic, utilizing a sea color pallet. Contrasted with a rough texture. Centered by low contrast. A downward spiral movement of the Dark reds through out the corals make the rustic painting overall copacetic. Recently, she has been highlighting corals in many of her works. The metaphysical properties of coral are sacred and mysterious. They are commonly known as a symbol of modesty, wisdom, happiness, and immortality. Coral is used as a remedy for spasms of intestines, sleeplessness, and bladder stones.
Corals are a symbol of a profound change. These transitions occur once one grounds themselves in reality. When a coral is seen in dream, it serves as a symbol of the utter beauty of life. Along with existence, comes health problems. Hence- they are also a symbol of blood. In the 16th century, many people thought a sprig of red and white coral could sooth a raging squall. Red & pink coral can be found on the Mediterranean & African coast, the red sea, & the waters off Malaysia & Japan. Coral is used to attract success and wealth. They furthermore strengthen ones intuition to the upcoming storm of tomorrow by grounding one in today.
Similar to Portia Zvavahera, I also incorporate aspects of quantum and meta physics in my works through symbolic plant based imagery. My current work in progress is called " let it breathe." In the center of the painting is a Ghanian symbol for transformation surrounded by Philodendrum monstera. Monstera comes from the latin word " monstrum " which means " monster" or "mystery." In feng shui, it is common knowledge that monstrum brings good luck and prosperity. With that being said, it is ideal for them to be placed near windows and entrances. Since that is where energy flows in and out of a room. Ultimately, we do not know who is going to walk in and out of our doors.
Justin Williams, Let it breathe ©TainoStudios. Courtesy of the artist.
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