We Become Gold by Tendai Makufa
I have a wonderful new painting by South African aritst Tendai Makufa to show you today.
Tendai began We become gold in 2019. The medium used is acrylic decorative paint on canvas and as you can see it is a large painting 120cm x 126cm.
Tendai explains to us that the painting is illustrating the contemporary and historically significant narrative brought about by the powerful impact the fruits and vegetables in the baskets have had on sufferers of the Corona virus.
In this compelling genre painting the women have arrived with the biggest baskets full of golden fruits and vegetables - lemons, onions, garlic and ginger which have been largely neglected in the past for their health value.
These produce from the earth have been made golden because of their new and unexpected significance in helping the improve the health of people's lives. The farmers have made a great deal of money selling the lemons, onions, garlic and ginger and the sufferers from the effects of corona have used these fruits in warm drinks and steam inhalations to help ease their symptoms.
In We become gold the new value of these products from the farms is shown by their size compared to the women who have harvested them and who are bound by their common goal to provide food for their people.
There is a powerful message in Tendai's painting: The food harvested by the women will be delivered to those in need and so - We become gold.
Tendai won the Best Artist Award from Show your talent (SYT) International Artist Group for 6 November for his We become gold painting. This is an on-line Facebook Group who award a daily acknowledgement of the best art work based on the number of likes and as the groups boasts in excess of 20,000 members it is a wonderful accomplishment to receive these awards.
© Thank you to Tendai Makufa who kindly gave permission for the images of his work to be shared on AnArt4Life and who provided much of the text.
We are going to stay in Africa for the whole week as tomorrow we are going on a life journey with a remarkable man who was an accountant but deep inside had the soul of an artist. Tomorrow you will meet John Broom and explore his art works of the Africa he knew.
If you would like to respond to Tendai's latest painting please leave a comment below.