Don’t Be Stopped, by South African artist Lungisa Matubatuba

In Don’t Be Stopped, there is a melancholy that is often apparent in Lungisa’s work: the sky is never blue, the countryside bare, derelict objects lie around. It’s not clear where people are going, or even what they look like.

The painting has a deliberate blurred look, which gives it a touch of nostalgia, like a memory not well remembered. It has the poetry of everyday survival.

Originally from the countryside in South Africa, or “veld”, Lungisa expresses in most of his work his tenderness toward country folks, particularly children. Here, they walk by themselves in a large expanse, and we have to hope for them that they will be safe, and find their way. And that they won’t be stopped!