Oil paint on linen canvas
89x60cm2025
The matriarch serves a pivotal role in this body of work. I was intentional in how I presented my mother, pairing a strong, almost soldier-like pose with a seductive garment to reinstate her femininity while subverting the masculine role she has often been required to embody. The scale of the painting was also central to driving this point home, as I made it the largest work in the series to emphasize her importance and commanding presence. Through this, I seek to challenge gender binaries that I find limiting and unreflective of the contemporary Motswana woman, whose identity is far more nuanced and complex than a fixed binary allows.