These paintings are a response to the novel of the same name by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. This moving and political novel is about the decline and disintegration of a noble family during the Italian risorgimento. The passions and grand sweep of the novel moved me deeply.
“Unbonded” throws light on some of the important economic issues that drive poverty and inequality, in this case the lack of access to mortgage finance in most countries in Africa. When I fly over and drive around the African cities I visit, I’m always struck by the many unfinished buildings I see, as this is in such sharp contrast to the cityscapes I see in more developed economies. Ironically, these buildings provide some incredibly iconic imagery; black gaping spaces where windows should be, torn cloth billowing in the wind, shaky scaffolding, grey silhouettes, rough concrete textures set against a grey sky. The works in this series are both about these buildings and the idea of the homes they will one day represent.
