prayer (ongoing project)
"There is something about our ancientness in the fingerprint. There is something about repetition as an invocation; as a prayer. The repetitive component is a very fundamental part of a way of engaging deeply with oneself and all that is greater than oneself." Colin Campbell
PRAYER is an ongoing project of finger print prayers dedicated to different causes or in the case of the prayers shown below, made for specific places. Prayers are mostly made in natural pigments on fabric, which is then sewn into wall hangings. The prayers are communal projects where I collaborate with my family, friends and community to sew them together.
40 Prayers from the desert (2019-2021)
This wall hanging consists of 40 panels of hemp with 108 fingerprints in yellow ochre from the Tankwa Karoo Desert on each panel. I was assisted by Niall Campbell, my brother-in-law and African Medicine Doctor, to conceptualize the form of this piece. The cowry shells in this work represents rain, which is associated in African culture with money and abundance. In essence this is a healing prayer for the Tankwa, this place of Thirst, for rain, for restoration and for peace. A community of women friends assisted in sewing it together: Lisa Fisher, Bukiwe Mpokela, Deirdre Renniers, Philippa Higgins and Suzy Amoils.
TITLE
40 Prayers from the Desert
Medium
Tankwa Ochre on Hemp
Size
320 x 121 cm
Year
2019-2021
Series
Spoorloos
scroll I (2021)
When I visited the Tankwa Karoo Desert in 2020, I was walking very consciously across its black stone surface, when I started to notice tiny pellets of potent ochre lying between the stones. I collected these, like one might collect precious shells on a beach. When I came back to the studio, I created this wall-hanging out of these tiny pieces of ochre. The form of this piece was conceptualized with Lisa Fisher and is based on a Buddhist Tanka, which is a wall hanging used for mediation. It has a hemp covering piece that ‘closes’ the prayer when it is not being used. We were assisted in our sewing by Bukiwe Mpokela.
TITLE
Scroll 1
Medium
Tankwa Karoo Ochre on Cotton
Size
273.5 x 110 cm
Year
2021
Series
Spoorloos
scroll II (2021)
I am blessed to live on what I believe is a sacred site: Table Mountain. This prayer is made as a wish of health and prosperity for Table Mountain. It consists of clay I have collected on my walks on the mountain over the years. The form of this piece was conceptualized with Lisa Fisher and is based on a Buddhist Tanka, which is a wall hanging used for mediation. It has a hemp covering piece that ‘closes’ the prayer when it is not being used. We were assisted in our sewing by Bukiwe Mpokela.
TITLE
Scroll 2
Medium
Table Mountain Ochre on Cotton
Size
258 x 110 cm
Year
2021
Series
Spoorloos
prayer (ongoing project)
"There is something about our ancientness in the fingerprint. There is something about repetition as an invocation; as a prayer. The repetitive component is a very fundamental part of a way of engaging deeply with oneself and all that is greater than oneself." Colin Campbell
PRAYER is an ongoing project of finger print prayers dedicated to different causes or in the case of the prayers shown below, made for specific places. Prayers are mostly made in natural pigments on fabric, which is then sewn into wall hangings. The prayers are communal projects where I collaborate with my family, friends and community to sew them together.
40 Prayers from the desert (2019-2021)
This wall hanging consists of 40 panels of hemp with 108 fingerprints in yellow ochre from the Tankwa Karoo Desert on each panel. I was assisted by Niall Campbell, my brother-in-law and African Medicine Doctor, to conceptualize the form of this piece. The cowry shells in this work represents rain, which is associated in African culture with money and abundance. In essence this is a healing prayer for the Tankwa, this place of Thirst, for rain, for restoration and for peace. A community of women friends assisted in sewing it together: Lisa Fisher, Bukiwe Mpokela, Deirdre Renniers, Philippa Higgins and Suzy Amoils.
TITLE
40 Prayers from the Desert
Medium
Tankwa Ochre on Hemp
Size
320 x 121 cm
Year
2019-2021
Series
Spoorloos
scroll I (2021)
When I visited the Tankwa Karoo Desert in 2020, I was walking very consciously across its black stone surface, when I started to notice tiny pellets of potent ochre lying between the stones. I collected these, like one might collect precious shells on a beach. When I came back to the studio, I created this wall-hanging out of these tiny pieces of ochre. The form of this piece was conceptualized with Lisa Fisher and is based on a Buddhist Tanka, which is a wall hanging used for mediation. It has a hemp covering piece that ‘closes’ the prayer when it is not being used. We were assisted in our sewing by Bukiwe Mpokela.
TITLE
Scroll 1
Medium
Tankwa Karoo Ochre on Cotton
Size
273.5 x 110 cm
Year
2021
Series
Spoorloos
scroll II (2021)
I am blessed to live on what I believe is a sacred site: Table Mountain. This prayer is made as a wish of health and prosperity for Table Mountain. It consists of clay I have collected on my walks on the mountain over the years. The form of this piece was conceptualized with Lisa Fisher and is based on a Buddhist Tanka, which is a wall hanging used for mediation. It has a hemp covering piece that ‘closes’ the prayer when it is not being used. We were assisted in our sewing by Bukiwe Mpokela.
TITLE
Scroll 2
Medium
Table Mountain Ochre on Cotton
Size
258 x 110 cm
Year
2021
Series
Spoorloos