at The Rotunda, Exchange Square, HONG KONG

DATE : 29th October – 11th November 2001
Sponsors: Nedcor Bank Limited
The Hongkong Land Co. Ltd.

Curator: Mr. Nigel Cameron

In September 1997 I  joined an expedition organised by the American Women’s Association to China’s northwestern province of Xinjiang. From earliest times it was through this vast, sparsely populated province that all communication between the West and China passed. As commerce gradually increased with the West’s appetite for Chinese silk, Xinjiang became a melting pot of the races of East and West whose members and their various cultures mingled with those of its indigenous population. Along this aptly named route passed for many centuries virtually all commercial and other contacts between the peoples of Europe and China.

I was inspired and emphathised by the great ethenic mix of its people, the colour of the market and the clothing  of the people, the closeness of animals to their human owners or minders, the  intricating rural architecture, and great landscape undert its fiercely blue sky.   I tried to capture in paint the look and the feeling of the timeless land and its towns and people, much of its appearance and culture little changed until very recently in this group of 25 works.

Homeward Bound 2001 Oil on canvas 81 x 100cm (sold)

In the market of Kashgar much of the clothing worn by the people tends to strong colours – perhpas an unconscious reaction to the pervading sand hues of their environment.   The passengers in a donkey cart are equally brightly clad, the driver standing to make room for them.

See more paintings click on “The Silk Road”.