SB30

3 Frames 20cm x 28.2cm each

Root word is an artwork that represents the resistance of being redundant. Resisting the lack of change. We are constantly fighting the same battles and never changing or learning from past mistakes. We as a society have become redundant in what we do and how we approach things and how we think. Problems in the past are continuing to affect our lives. Pollution, racism, sexism and etc. Wars still break out even though we know the negative effects on our lives. We try and change, yet in many ways our problems are still the same. The title of my artwork is called root word because of the meaning of the word root word. A root word is a word or word part that can form the basis of new words through the addition of prefixes and suffixes. This is how I view the problems we face in society. The root of the problem is still the same, just new things are added to it. There are so many examples of the problems we have now as a root word to something bigger or smaller than what we had in the past.

The flowers represented in the artwork is a Gazania flower, native to south Africa, representing South Africa. There are some distinctive changes between the flowers in each frame, but the growth in the flower is still the same. This is to show that even though some things are different and have changed, the root of the artwork is still the same. This coincides with the problems we have faced as a nation. Even though apartheid is over, the root problem of racism is still going strong today. What is dangerous about leaving the root of a problem is that it can manifest into something worse. Like how discrimination has resulted in the murders of many innocent people.
Different watering tools over the years representing the different stages of life. First frame in apartheid, second frame as apartheid was ending. Frame 3, our present. We are advancing rapidly in technology but our mindsets are something that is slow to change.

Different frames, going darker. Reference to pollution and how over time our air is getting more polluted and how our lack of change is polluting South Africa. Contrast between light and dark makes references to the races in South Africa. First frame white majority and black seemed like the minority. Frame 2 colour change, more acceptance of colour of skin. The darkness of the last frame makes reference to how the importance of the colour of our skin has consumed us. They say your colour does not matter, yet there are so many reminders in our society that it does. The shades of the flower are different, yet it is still a flower nonetheless. We have different skin colours, different ethnicities, we are different from each other, yet we are human nonetheless.