Untitled (Head and Watch Charm)
Provenance : Russell Kaplan Auctioneers, Johannesburg, 2 August 2014, lot 87.
Private Collection, Johannesburg.
Notes : ‘This is one of a series of smallish oils I showed at Karen McKerron in the late nineties. This is a Buddhist monk, with his skull separate from his body, as skulls are kept as bowls and mementi mori by devotees. The silvered neck aperture echoes a skull bowl. The bell inside reminds one of the tinkle, clatter of bells in Buddhist temples as I experienced them in Nepal. The breath, and separation from the desires of the body are also indicated, as is the asceticism of Buddhist monks, in the leanness of the face.’
Judith Mason
