Still Life Series

Riding on a painting tradition that stretches back to the ancient Egyptians, and, arguably, reaching its summit with the Dutch and Spanish Masters in the 17th century, Anna-Marÿke celebrates life in nature through the contemporary medium of analogue photography.

Meticulously setting up still life compositions of flowers and produce gathered primarily from her garden in the Southern Highlands, she also includes found objects, birds, insects, fur and animals that finally culminate in complex tableaux.

Luscious fabrics of rich velvet and brocade, draped, bunched, and folded provide a constant backdrop. Primarily one source of focussed and subdued light sculpts the elements and reminisces the dim, moody illumination of pre electricity, stage and theatre.

Compositional elements of line, form, shape, texture, and tone are employed as the skeleton from which to then apply colour and atmosphere.

Time is needed to fully appreciate the depth and complexity on which each composition is structured. Many of the elements are subsumed into the deep shadows, but gradually emerge adding layer upon layer of story and aesthetic information.

This exhibition is the culmination of 8 years of work in the studio paying homage to her Dutch father, artist Gerard Havekes, and all that he embodied.

To give credence to the guarantee that each piece is an original with no possibility of duplication, Anna-Marÿke will cut up the transparency of each print and then give it with a certificate of exclusivity to the collector