Sadie Swartz

If our society insists on racial categorization as an indicator of identity demographics, I prefer to be classified as Kullid.

K .                                                                       Kings and Queens

U .                                                                      Uniquely Designed

L .                                                                       Layered

L .                                                                       Love

I .                                                                        Independent Individuality/ I

D .                                                                      Define who I am.

(Re)definition and (re)identification, as simple as that.

This body of work is a visual representation of an ongoing spiritual journey that intertwines with a dialogue of the (re)construction of identity. It presents a navigation of a space in-between imposed racial archetypes and stereotypes as it moves into the more personal relatability of cultural identity within the context of creolized identities in South African society.

These works present a spiritual journey that is conflated with a searching for identity apart from the mere acceptance of existing archetypes. None of the works were intentionally planned or conceptualised through my own intellectual or creative means.

They are all unsolicited depictions of visions that I have received through my spiritual journey, all of which were followed by means of prayer, worship, and spiritual meditation in the Holy Spirit.

Each work is supplemented with a description of the vision that is accompanied by the context that I was in during each vision. These descriptions provide a space of consideration between the vision, its description and possible interpretations, however, these interpretations are not fixed by my intention as these visions are naturally unconceptualized by my own means of thinking and consideration.

Vision Description: I received the first vision within the context of a mixed-media drawing. It came to me in stages.

The initial scene was a blank, white foundation (the page): on which, a thick, black brushstroke, followed by expressive black splatters activated the blank surface. I intentionally made each mark on a sheet of A1 Fabriano paper exactly as I had seen it in the vision.

Then, nothing…

Weeks went by and I continued to manifest the work through prayer, then all at once, the entire vision developed into a multi-faceted scene with several aspects that appeared in layers.

A cluster of coral-like matter that had holes on their tops developed in the bottom-left region of the surface, this matter was encompassed by hundreds of small spherical-shaped objects that were sized differently. I was, perhaps subconsciously, directed to complete the cluster before inserting the next aspect of the vision into the composition. Once the cluster was completed, it was followed by a dramatic gold streak that cut across the entire plane of the surface area, widening toward the centre of the sheet, the streak had varying shades of gold, with tinges of black in the streak.

Last to appear were the rock-like formations, each of the 20 forms were unique in shape and size, while the centre of each rock is 10cm away from the edge of the paper. A few weeks after the entire vision was revealed to me, I received a revelation that the title of the work would be “Rock of All Ages”.

Vision Description: “I am the Way, I Am the Light” (2022) is predominantly monochromatic and thus emphasises a reality that places ultimate relevance onto communities that identify with either Blackness or Whiteness, while I thoughtfully integrate gold into the composition that begins to express the relevance of the minority Kullid community. This drawing aims to communicate a consistent “falling through the cracks” of the Kullid community amongst the discussions and relevance placed onto Blackness and Whiteness. I purposefully create a space of the in-between that merges these two ‘colours’ while I incorporate the gold to signify that the merging of cultures does not merely create a hybrid of those cultures but instead creates a completely unique compound. I further emphasise the unique nature of creolized cultures through my treatment of spiritual visions and communications as is relevant in this drawing. Thus, allowing me to use this space of the in-between to create a platform for visions unspoken and experiences unnoticed. This composition likewise appeared to me in the form of a static vision, where an individual was seated in an empty spherical space that was held in the palm of a giant hand. The composition was completely monochromatic in the vision until two strips of gold cut through the image, from the top to the bottom of the composition. The gold strips were off centre and there was a watery monochromatic texture framing the top of the spherical shape. The surreal nature of this work becomes almost thematic in my accompanying body of works, while this composition communicates the reality that black-and-white conversations of ‘relevant’ cultures holds the space/ conditions of the ‘monochromatic’ individual in the palm of its hand. It further stretches into the spiritual through the relevance of spiritual teachings that express God “having the world in His hands”, which I find quite relevant in relation to my faith being central to divine intervention over human intervention. This is a reality that I have become accustomed to as a Kullid individual from Eldorado Park who has witnessed that the government that spoke for change in a “Rainbow Nation” only incurred change on racially pure cultures and that the only help that we can hope to receive may be from God alone.

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