Nov 30, 2020
Taking print orders – please email if interested. Or view the catalogue for info.
We all know that the words we use can promote the value of something or diminish it. We also know that a product can be deemed valuable in the hands of one person, but less valuable in the hands of another.
I met Ma Eunice Jabulani as a young craft developer in 2002. I was reacquainted with her in 2016, 14 years after we first met. What struck me when I revisited her area, was that not much had changed. Over those years, craft contracts came and went; sometimes ending abruptly, with no other means of income to fill the gap. Yet, over those years, these woven baskets have paid for: a battery to charge phones, a solar panel, bricks for a new room, college fees for a child, and a myriad other necessities.
In the field of craft development – it is often the creator, the “crafter”, whose work is undervalued and underpaid. While they are an essential part of the value chain, they are often the weakest. And by weakest, I mean: vulnerable, expendable, and generally, the poorest.
That same product, in the hands of (a reseller) one who can weave a compelling tale of provenance, accompanied by glossy images and online presence, can increase the value of that piece exponentially.
Thirty (30) % of earnings from prints sold of this artwork will go to developing workshops on income generation strategies for the KwaJobe craft group.
Oil on canvas
100cm x 70cm | 39.37in x 27.55in