MISHECK MASAMVU

Safety Pin uses intergenerational relationships as the primary source with an emphasis on maternal links. Oscillating between abstraction and figuration, the exhibition also addresses the past while searching for a way of being present - with dignity - in this world.

This exhibition leans towards abstraction formed through frenetic mark-making through which the artist works through his fears, anxieties and dreams. The title is suggestive of a precarious holding together all of the feelings, thoughts and reflections that feed the work.

Layered painted surfaces and brushstrokes exist as remnants of the physical act of painting and give the sense that multiple temporalities have been embedded within each image. The irregular, erratic swipes of paint and chaotic compositions mimic the artist’s desire to let emotions manifest without being expressed through recognisable forms. In this way the scenes that appear on canvas collectively become confessional expressions, in turn allowing viewers to access their own vulnerabilities.