The Colour Purple
In creating this, the last of the paintings in my trilogy on reclaiming my identity, I realised that there is a strong influence of Peter Doig who I’ve referenced before. He says more of an outsider than anything. “People will ask me where I’m from, and I say, ‘Well, I’m from here,’ and they may be surprised.
I’ve named this painting: “The Colour Purple” referencing Alice Walker’s novel of the same name. Celie, the protagonist believes that once she gets self- identity, she can have the right to enjoy the purple, her most favourite/favouring colour.
Hence this piece has a complex layering of colour and landscaping which creates its own visual language. Deliberately, here is a nameless landscape in the middle of a barren land, of no specific time. I hope to incorporate figures into landscapes as the year moves on.