ART:- LEOPOLD’S TRIPTYCH PT 2 (PROCESS)

For this series, I wanted to dedicate it to the actual survivors of the Congo genocide.

I first researched the images of different survivors before settling on the three people above. I felt an instant soulful connection to them and instinctively knew they were the people who I wanted to feature in my artworks.

In terms of the influence of art history on my work, I had recently visited Francis Bacon‘s exhibition in London and was particularly drawn to his TRIPTYCH series of works.

When it came to the depiction of pain, damage and the power of life. There was no better artist than Bacon when it came to depicting it.

His work moved me and instantly informed the direction that I wanted my series of Triptychs to take.

I literally stood and shed a tear when I saw those works. They were incredibly moving, humbling and powerful. It made such an impact on my psyche that I knew that had to be the artistic lineage for this work.

Every brush stroke speaks volumes in Bacon‘s work. I hope I did it justice.

His Crucifixion series in particular spoke to me because in a similar way, I felt that the Congolese had undergone crucifixion under Leopold.

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(*If you will like to learn more about this forgotten and awful chapter in history, please read the book LEOPOLD’S GHOST by Adam Hochschild).