Marcet sine adversatio virtus

Artist: Liezl Potgieter
Title: Marcet sine adversatio virtus (Valour becomes feeble without an opponent)
Medium: Charcoal and Ink on Fabriano
Size: 79.5cm x 100cm

Unframed

Brief synopsis: The last year took a lot away from us: people we loved, health, jobs, security and more. In the spirit of Memento Mori, funeral art popular in the 16^th century, the strelitzia symbolises immortality, and the kudu scull death. Both are connected – it’s the law of nature. These symbols serve as a reminder of the inevitability of death.

The virus is portrayed as a court jester, a fool. Just as a joker has carte blanche to say anything he wishes with no discrimination, Corona takes whatever and whomever it wants. Our lungs can be referred to as an individual’s “Tree of Life”. Capillaries of the lungs look like tree branches. As the virus has an impact on some patients’ respiratory system, I used living and dead trees to symbolise this.

The title banner first stated the latin phrase “Malum quo communius eo peius”, which means “The more common an evil is, the worse it is.” After much reflection I changed it to its current title, because I was reminded of what the apostle Paul said in his second letter to the Corinthians: that Jesus’ grace is sufficient for us, for His strength is made perfect in weakness.

This is what I choose to focus on in the aftermath.