About the Piece

The emphasis in ÔThe Burden in BecomingÕ is transformation. There are three vessel-like shapes, all three with South Asian or Islamic patterning: two are attractive vases and one a embellished hand grenade. Butterflies and frogs appear also in this painting, creatures of transformation. The duality of evolution is poetically described by the artist: you can change to become a vessel for nourishment like a vase or you can evolve to be a destroyer like a grenade. You can grow to be loved like a butterfly or you can opt for the frog and divide those that look upon you. The moving aspect however is, whatever you decide, you are made from the same cloth and hold the same wondrous decoration. There is empathy here for the migrant experience: we evolve in a manner that is often out of our hands and we (and others) must be kind.