Artwork Description
Two young boys stand side by side in A Boy Named Snell, their figures painted directly onto a page of the Cape of Good Hope Government Gazette dated Tuesday, 1 May 1860. One faces away from us while the other turns slightly to the side, giving the scene the unselfconscious feel of a moment caught in passing.
The old Gazette is still very much present. Columns of notices, tenders and everyday business run through the boys' clothing and around their bodies, while the aged paper and irregular edges carry their own history. Lisette Forsyth works lightly enough to let these details remain visible, bringing the boys into conversation with a document printed more than 160 years before they were painted.
A Boy Named Snell is an original acrylic and ink painting on historical South African Gazette paper, available unframed for R16,250.
