Reflection

I gave a lot of thought to the subject of my artwork before I ever set paintbrush to paper. I grew up in Cape Town, which is a seaside city, and I’ve seen firsthand the results of perlemoen poaching and plastic pollution on our beaches.

Looking out across the water, there is rarely a day when you don’t see huge oil tankers lurking in the distance. In the past, the tankers have been known to flush out the ballast water from their fuel tanks into the ocean, which hurts marine and bird life. My mother used to volunteer for The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), and has told me about the penguins who had to be force-fed and rehabilitated after coming into contact with oil. When the penguins groom themselves, they inadvertently consume the crude oil, which poisons them.

I decided I wanted to create a work that spoke to the issue of oil pollution. I think there is a tendency for businesses and politicians to avoid taking accountability for the environmental damage they cause in pursuit of profit. I knew I wanted to show ‘our hand’ in the problem, and this is where my piece started, with oil-soaked hands hovering above a colourful underwater paradise. My goal was to express the fragility of the marine world, with the threat of destruction hanging above it like a Damocles Sword. Although humans can still save the environment, the situation is precarious and I wanted my piece to inspire people to take action before it’s too late.