Pear III

Artist Statement:

People are so accustomed to violence that it is seen as a reoccurring thing and it is accepted without any objection, through the fact that it is a daily occurrence it has desensitized society making it easy to turn away and not be confronted with one’s own morals, so instead society decides to ignore what does not directly affect them. My work evolved from painting wounds to painting torture devices, tools used to inflict pain, in medieval times torture was used as a righteous act, to torture the evil doers, or to even make people alter their beliefs to fit in with society’s ideals.  My paintings originally wanted to show the horror of the tools used for torture, but progressed into looking instead at the beauty and craftsmanship of something made to inflict pain, the contrast between beauty and destruction becomes the main theme within my art.  

One Sentence of my interpretation of my work:

I explore the contrast between tools designed and intended for destruction and the beauty of the devices’ craftsmanship.

  • Pear III
  • Ilandi Barkhuizen
  • Oil on steel
  • 40 x 29.7 centimeters
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