2017
Acrylic on canvas
150 x 100 cm
On long-term loan from the Zeitz Collection.

 

This painting depicts a wide-eyed figure in the foreground with its head bent starring directly at the viewer with a forlorn expression. It appears to be falling into the arms of another figure whose arm supports and lifts his head, both enveloped by a pale yellow colour field.

There is a sense of fragility and lightness of the figure’s weight as it rests comfortably on the lean torso of a lover maybe to settle into an intimate embrace. Or does the lover reach out for a gentle caress?

The title I’ve got you suggests a lover’s reassurance, but could also express the anxiety that comes from being smothered by a lover’s devotion. Perhaps, the nature of their relationship drifts between states of reverie and unbridled passion. The fallible tension of their intimacy and desire to hold on to each other is strongly felt by them and us.

Sakhisizwe Gcina, AKO Foundation Assistant Curator of Special Projects, Curatorial Lab.