Art Nurse - Arte Enfermero, 2006

Media: Heat Sensitive Paper; fire, leather, dye
Size: 25 x 25 inches
Provenance: The Artist

This bi-polar image resonates for me
personally within the polarity of having been
both a psychiatric nurse and a patient treated
for a period of depression. The image struck
me as the reality of being present (the Nurse)
as well as being absent (the Self). While I
was a nurse, I was “present,” but, in
fact, “absent” as an artist, i.e. the core of who
I was remained hidden, although what I
seemingly projected was an image of
occupancy. In Art Nurse, mark making has
occurred by using direct fire and flames,
thereby hoping to project the anguish and pain
of the inner status of mentally ill persons.


Sonya Rademeyer (South Africa)