Giyas Ahmed

My name is Giyas Ahmed, a local Cape Town artist. Born in District Six, Cape Town, during the bitter parts of Apartheid - themes relating to hardships of life and suffering. I have lived in a segregated South Africa for a long time and experienced life with a legislated structure of prejudice and exploitation, hence, self-taught was the order of the day.
Art, my passion, is a natural talent inherent and imbued in everybody that brings joy and meaning to life and hopefully to those who share in it. My work is rooted in realism with simplicity. My preferred medium is pencil, graphite, charcoal and lead in which I give full attention to fine detail. My work is decorative and by definition I try to be realistic as possible. I prefer the effects of dark and shadows to emphasize light together with the element of grey when depicting the subject matter. Losing edges, putting in essentials......bold shades, tones, textures and conformity fascinate me. Visible pencil strokes, open composition, stress on light, themes and the presence of motion are important elements.
Madiba's expression to life through his sacrifices, captured my respect and love for him. It was a pleasure to have worked passionately on a portrait of Madiba, who n...