Sunshine Of Your Love – Pastel – 18.5 x 24 inch
Under the shade of some trees, the women of the village are working hard. They are pounding corn, sweeping dirt, skinning chickens, carrying firewood, tending small cooking fires and looking after babies. The older children swarm around me like I am Peter Pan. I take note of all the colours, especially the colours of the fabric the women are wearing. The designs, colours and detailing tell what tribe she was born into.
My eye is drawn to one woman in particular because of her fine bone structure, her regal posture, the unusual, light and clean fabric she is wearing. I notice an almost impeccably white lace trimmed top under her dress, which is amazing as there is a constant cloud of red dust everywhere. Her skin colour is lighter than that of the other women in the village. She is carrying a baby in a sling on her back while savagely quartering chickens. She seems distant, unhappy and has an aura of despair around her.
When she notices me I see a glint of hostility then sadness in her eyes before they go back to looking vacant. I wonder what her story is. Her baby has noticed me as well and her little eyes go round with fear. She clutches her mother and looks up at her as if to verify that this is the boogie(wo)man and she is actually allowed to cry. Her mother looks down at her and in that moment the mother’s facial expression and body language are totally transformed and I see the glow of utter, complete and all-encompassing love of a mother for her child.