Andrea Desmond-Smith is a mytho-poetic artist combining elements of myth and fantasy with a deeply felt concern with the destruction of our planet. The themes that permeate her work are metamorphosis, resurrection and the four elements of Western alchemy: water, earth, fire and air. Her work is in public and private collections in South Africa and in Europe.
Artemis
The ancient goddess sleeps beneath her tower. Soon she will awaken, to live again on a piece of land dedicated to her spirit of wild nature.
Self Portrait with Necklace
The 1980’s were times of violence and "necklacing" with burning tyres. How did the puzzle pieces of my life as a young mother fit together with the politics of South Africa?
Little White Stories
This is a portrait of "Edith" a Xhosa woman who worked for me for many years. Behind her, in the shadows, covered in gold dust is a portrait of the artist, a white woman, beneficiary of the black woman’s work.
Hendrik's Studio
Hendrick was a potter who lived in this old, dusty house. The whole place was like living inside an unfired earthenware vessel!
Pandora
Pandora was blamed for opening a box and letting all the evils of the world fly out. All that was left was "Hope". Women get blamed for a lot of things, but she doesn't mind, her head is in the clouds, flying with the birds.
Rear View Mirage
In driving long distances across an arid land….the animals, the road kills, the visual communication with the rear-view-mirror, gave rise to an animal/being who bleeds for the exploited land.
Vortex
This chair should not be sat in lightly ... one might be devoured by the cat that is everywhere present, but completely absent. Too much imagining can lead to the dark acres of the soul.
Penumbra
"An area of ambiguity or uncertainty" says the dictionary. A time of uncertainty in my life when the shadows of the past were more real than the present light streaming in through the curtain.
The Gardener
This earth-mother walks behind me as I garden, sowing all the pests that I am trying to get rid of. She is a force of nature in that she contains the four symbols of Western Alchemy…. Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
Miss Lisa
Since Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa around 1503, this beauty, into which the soul with all its maladies has passed, has lived another 500 years and in this painting she has a common cold, but also still holds all the wisdom of the universe.
Pomegranates
I try to paint pomegranates every year. For me it is a ritual of the goodness that the Earth gives to us. They are a symbol of the woman and have been used from the time of the ancients, in many cultures. Here, my first painting of pomegranates, they are locked up in a room, broken open.
Figs
Do you know that figs flower inwardly and are fertilized by a specific wasp for each species of fig? This seemed for me to be a perfect metaphor for my own artistic consciousness coming into being.
Cape Trinity
“The Fairest Cape in all the World”, but look what we’re doing to her! Destroying her unique nature, polluting,building all over her. The balance of her beauty is delicate. Be aware of what we will lose.
Leave Taking
Do we stay safe within our familiar zones, or grab perceived opportunities and escape to freer but riskier landscapes?
Keeping Silence
Sometimes it is best not to say anything, just to let what is past get blown away in the wind and mists of our tears.
Interpretation of Omens
An omen is said to be an object or event that has prophetic significance. When an owl took to roosting in my studio that was open to the elements, and my partner broke a knife he had just made, I made a decision that benefited me enormously.
Dark Horse
Horses are such great teachers. This woman listens so carefully to what the horse tells her, that she can mediate between the animal and human worlds. She is part horse and doesn’t need the useless book of human knowledge that lies between them.
Branded
We are all “branded” in some way.This noble horse is branded with a plough for hard work in the fields. The woman has an inner branding…be seen and not heard, but she is older than culture, wilder the horse. Here is a heartfelt meeting of culture and nature.
The Two Towers
I have a tower at “Artemis” I can see for miles. But if I was as tall as a giraffe, I would dream all day with my head in the clouds.
Smoke Break
Oh dear! this bride is SO p****d off! She’s still waiting for her groom to turn up, her feet are sore, her clothes pinch and her ‘bluebird-of-happiness’ looks crestfallen. No wonder she sneaked out for a smoke break. The frame is a fake of an original golden treasure. Is the groom also a fake?
Back to top