The artwork titled, “Segregation” (2021) is from the series Phoenix survivors. The body of paintings from this series highlighted the inequalities during the height of the lootings that took place in Durban due to political instigation. The looting & violence exposed the scars left by apartheid in South Africa. This culminated in a moment where particular communities like Phoenix chose to take the law into their own hands, leading to what we know as the Phoenix massacre. The racial tension between certain races was heightened where many black South Africans who occupied these suburbs & gated communities felt like they were being racially profiled as potential looters and were prevented from returning to their homes without providing evidence of where they stayed.
“Segregation” (2021) is a painting that reflects on the moments where a person’s skin color was read as a potential threat & their race deprived them access to the privileges they thought they had obtained.
