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ORANJEZICHT
Brush up on lockdown Creative artist Razia Myers produced a series of nine abstract paintings that depict the journey through the different phases of the national lockdown. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
KAYLYNNE BANTOM KAYLYNNE.BANTOM@MEDIA24.COM
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s the national lockdown drags on into its fifth month, many people have had to find various ways to cope with the new normal. Creative artist Razia Myers decided to express her feelings and emotions as only a creator can: through art. Myers says, as an artist, the lockdown had a direct impact on her livelihood as events and art exhibitions came to an abrupt standstill. In 2015, Myers left her full-time job in the Information Technology (IT) sector as she knew deep down that she wasn’t fulfilling her purpose. It was during a trip abroad with her husband, Martin, that she decided to make a career shift. “I worked in the IT sector for 20 years, but as I developed a closer relationship with God, I realised I was feeling unfulfilled. I needed something more, I was searching for purpose.” Myers says while travelling with her husband in India she went for a creative course and soon discovered the artist within. The Oranjezicht resident says since her career shift, she has never looked back, as she found her passion. But nothing could have prepared her, or anyone else for that matter, for the Covid-19 pandemic and the string of challenges it brought along with it. Myers says it was at the start of the lockdown in March when she found that she had to release the infinite emotions she was experiencing and began to delve into the genre of abstract expressionism. She produced a series of nine abstract paintings that depict the journey through the different levels of lockdown. “My artwork during level four of the lockdown, like the striking blue and yellow maze painting, echo the staccato-like decisions of the government and the back-and-forth of indecision that had a major influence on one’s psyche.” Myers says another more reflective piece is inspired by her long walks in De Waal Park and feelings of release from the prison she felt she was living in. “These were the raw emo-
tions that I felt,” she explains. Myers says she believes God has given her a purpose and this speaks through her art. “The Bible is my source of inspiration and natural wonders – the spiral shells in my ocean pieces and the Twelve Apostles standing sentry as men reflect this.”
Myers says she hopes to inspire other women to find their purpose and to stop at nothing to fulfil it. “I’d like to say to women that we are multifaceted and diverse, and we should explore that.” She says her journey did not come without
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challenges but admits that nothing in life worth having comes easily. “True happiness comes from fulfilling your purpose. No amount of money can replace that value.” To view and purchase Myers’s artwork, visit www.raziamyersart.co.za.