By Yolanda Wessels
Source: G.Duminy
Gifford Duminy from Durban loves nature, so much so, that he creates beautiful murals inspired by wildlife.
Gifford says, “I was born in Westville and grew up in the upper highway area. The Kloof Gorge was a mindblower for me. I have always spent a lot of time in natural spaces and enjoy trail running, bird walking, surfing, snorkeling, and scuba diving. Nature has been my primary teacher in life, it has taught me respect, perseverance, patience, surrender, appreciation, joy, and amazement, to name a few, and always leaves me feeling like a warm hug.”
Gifford says that he finds it challenging to define himself as an artist. He is a painter and a visual artist who works primarily on large-scale mural surfaces. “I am incredibly inspired by our natural world here in South Africa, especially in KZN since I live here and have grown up learning about the local wildlife on land, and recently I have been spending more time exploring the waters of our rocky shores and reefs on our KZN coast. We have so much incredible biodiversity around us.”
His theme of work is inspired by wildlife in the local area of the mural painting. He aims to connect humans and their spaces with images of nature that wouldn’t normally be seen in the size of a mural. Painting on a large scale can be highly impactful to the immediate surroundings of the wall. He hopes that people will notice the subject he paints in real life and take note of other marvelous expressions of nature.
“There is so much joy to be found in learning about nature and its multitude of expressions and relative rarity, which make some species so exciting. There’s nothing like seeing a critically endangered 4-meter-long Scalloped Hammerhead Shark swim past you at 30 meters deep while scuba diving. There’s a whole world out there to explore!”
We will only effectively conserve our wild spaces once we collectively appreciate them enough to realise their worth. Our Eco-systems rely on the whole and entirety of biodiversity to function how it is supposed to. “We should all be planting only indigenous plants, and if possible, endemic indigenous plants. As well as growing organic vegetables. Our gardens need to be seen as a buffet for the pollinators, feed the bugs and stop spraying poisons on them. We need to become part of our ecosystem again and consider the land we are only temporary custodians of.”
Images available on his website.
The post Protecting wildlife one mural at a time – By Yolanda Wessels appeared first on The Home Of Great South African News.
Gifford Duminy from Durban loves nature, so much so, that he creates beautiful murals inspired by wildlife
The post Protecting wildlife one mural at a time – By Yolanda Wessels appeared first on The Home Of Great South African News. Read More
