Commonly considered the greatest exercise in land exploitation is gold mining. I was inspired to work with gold after a friend and I were driving through a remote part of Swaziland, where we came across a new gold mine. The destruction of the natural landscape was devastating, and I could not help but wonder why humankind was prepared to ruin natural sites in order to excavate its resources. I wanted to know what value it adds to our lives.
My research revealed that the answer lies in personal adornment, and it is fact that some 50% of all new gold produced is fabricated into jewellery. This staggering statistic led my process to returning the gold back to the land, metaphorically speaking. In my Monuments series I apply real gold leaf to paintings of sites of human-made landscapes as a way to monumentalise humankind’s self-destructive industrial prowess.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/54596a79-b2f6-4fd6-91c1-8d5dbbacb41a_rw_1920.png?h=2aabd4193ba1833cab8932461c0ca045)
All above artworks are 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/ffb6f747-5608-4656-a994-374a328ae635_rw_1920.jpg?h=6abedb58f1f523ddcc10ac62948f3be8)
Title: Monuments - 16
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/8546064f-4745-4fc3-888f-77c315e6f0b4_rw_1200.jpg?h=7707f6aa18d00352b5bdcd6def601af7)
Title: Monuments - 4
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/3043d4e5-9e25-47ce-9755-1e63659a9804_rw_1920.jpg?h=fd904bd673a6bb6af31716c39322d57a)
Title: Monuments - 15
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/11ea9513-7262-4910-b449-50cfe82b12e3_rw_1200.jpg?h=64e0b102564a7f017ad1badc20d19346)
Title: Monuments - 8
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/5bf7af17-4b72-434f-99c7-f21d90499b16_rw_1920.jpg?h=861447777bb6f5aa899ff88b88872a50)
Title: Monuments - 9
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/3b10716b-505e-454b-b1e8-d39fcd735587_rw_1200.jpg?h=bc9d6ae968877e759fe0a0632bb2d9d4)
Title: Monuments - 2
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/e3f92895-f3f1-44e2-af42-01684a40ab43_rw_1920.jpg?h=3c431bdb6221eababd9859bba67fecc3)
Title: Monuments - 13
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/fcb9c48a-4e38-4bcb-87cb-9b558af02d28_rw_1200.jpg?h=3d873a02bc6bbf9c68576a4b545f62be)
Title: Monuments - 3
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/56a3e25c-0735-4d4d-af2e-894abfde6243_rw_3840.jpg?h=55771398c22917e05f5b3656a7b2acd0)
Title: Monuments - 12
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/2fbdf45a-4f87-4fa6-af9f-7ecdb261fd06_rw_1200.jpg?h=0e0d4f0ca235932c9c2ab354b64cd807)
Title: Monuments - 6
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/2a9bd401-ed1c-43f7-a8a2-98b8491b02f1_rw_3840.jpg?h=b44c64fa488aefd142b60632a1ae9d73)
Title: Monuments - 10
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/a8effc8f-efa7-4d5e-becd-f00129194e8e_rw_1200.jpg?h=c9275b999b427f246d0f66eabdd06afc)
Title: Monuments - 5
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/dfda9f67-9633-456a-85c7-59934e033c1c_rw_3840.jpg?h=bcfb6fec68f474da41f70a1aca7e5e23)
Title: Monuments - 11
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/5c888535-6312-4595-bb45-9a85ea8d4263_rw_1200.jpg?h=1eede9b97ac5f800219fdc594a63400a)
Title: Monuments - 7
Size: 700 x 700mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/bbb46e1b-55b4-45d7-bbee-beb0d3a54a86_rw_1920.png?h=6b0d9faae2b09dbac32c87a2936cd6b0)
The gold has a lively reflective quality. It shines almost white when reflecting sunlight, gold under lamp light, and sometimes totally recedes into the background.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/90a5fdc2-7168-4c95-94f8-f35569880750_rw_1200.jpg?h=721630a423c2b46ddc63a09d016fb888)
Title: Monuments - 1
Size: 1000 x 1000mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and imitation gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/b61f0779-eda1-4cbf-a1a7-0cb457096a93_rw_1200.jpg?h=062b94961eea3f0619cb928c01926f92)
Title: Monuments - 17
Size: 1000 x 1000mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/80f0203a-997f-4f4d-bd00-fa881abb69e2_rw_1200.jpg?h=5a5111a0d2cc5438a09fabbfc60fe828)
Title: Monuments - 18
Size: 1000 x 1000mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/fc93fb49a5cbedf2f554bbde17617350/cad69656-dc35-4eee-b1d4-86cd0f8767f1_rw_1200.jpg?h=c829614765c848f037598d4b42329e59)
Title: Monuments - 19
Size: 1000 x 1000mm
Medium: Acrylic paint and genuine gold-leaf on archival paper
SOLD