“Aunty Evinah, ngizokubhalela yona, I'll write it for you.” In this work I explore the idea of people being strangers to the lives of domestic workers. This idea was inspired by my relationship with u-Aunty, a beautiful, dark, Shona woman from a village called Tsholotsho in Zimbabwe, with three children. A domestic worker, who worked for our family for many years. In this work I attempted to to tell her story in the books that are written and read by the privileged. She told me her story everyday. Stories of the people who got eaten by crocodiles when crossing the Limpopo River. The story of her partner, who had died. Her fears of going outside because of the increased attacks. The story of how she lost her two front teeth in an accident on a donkey in Tsholotsho. Or how her young toddler’s tooth fell out with age.  Her strength and wisdom continues to inspire me and I will continue to tell her story. When she's there, when she's not and even when she needs to be reminded of it.

I've used books as my medium, to represent the stories we here in magazines, books and the news, which we don't realise are being experienced by the people we see everyday

In this work I utilized paint, ink and a combination of the two in my work. The pointilism technique of the portrait emphasizes the fragmented, unclear view I had on u-Aunty Evinah’s life.

I think my strongest piece is the self portrait of u-Aunty in a white head wrap. I was intrigued by her beauty in this image and was reminded of her efforts to look good before going to town or church.

My work was inspired by the unspoken words of one of the strongest woman I know, and here are a few of her stories.

Moliko; A drawing on a stoep; December 2018; Oil pastel on concrete