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"The Road I Have Travelled"
One of my first ever portrait paintings. The reference for
this painting was never meant to be a painting. I was a graphic design student
at Durban Technical College, and I took a photograph of one of the cleaning
ladies there. She was shy — not used to having her picture taken — and squinted
slightly because the sun that day was harsh. Her eyes were in shadow in the
black-and-white print I developed later in the college darkroom.
I couldn't get
her presence out of my head .
I called it "The Road I Have Travelled"
because everyone has a story written into their face, and hers held whole
lifetimes. Every line on her forehead, the set of her mouth, the tired,
dignified way she wore her headscarf — it was all a map of where she'd been.
I
regret to this day that I didn't ask her more about her story but I also didn't want to
be intrusive. I was young and shy too. But I learned something profound that
day: you don't always need the words. If you look long enough, with respect, a
little bit of the story reveals itself anyway. This was one of the very first
portraits I ever dared to paint, and it taught me that portraiture isn't about
capturing eyes perfectly. It's about honoring the journey that brought that
face in front of you.
Due to the fact that I
created this painting I still think back to my life at that time and
also wonder where this lady is now and how she had travelled since then.
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