Rivers of Life 5 (1994)

Artist's Statement

I see the river as a metaphor for human experience. The exhibition was my response to the lightening of the political atmosphere in 1994 with the inauguration of Nelson Mandela - a clearer vibrancy, the river flowing more smoothly again.

Our lives are like rivers. Sometimes they flow smoothly and sometimes they go through turbulence but they always symbolize a moving forward. There is no going back.

The rivers theme is most universal. South Africa's return to the world of democracy was watched by the universe. I worked on satellite and aerial photographs of real rivers like the Ganges, Okavango Delta and the Colorado. Some rivers I used because I liked the shapes and others because they just spoke to me more.