Tara Deacon is a South African Illustrator living and working in Berlin. Her paintings reflect a nostalgic mix of memory, place and daily life reflections. Her work often explores themes from her place of birth , images populated by the fruits, plants, characters and light of her homeland. Her solo show ‘Return’ is currently on exhibition in Lisbon. Talking on her series, she explains:
‘Return’ is an illustrative body of work that explores the theme of an annual summer return to my hometown of Pretoria. It’s a journey I have made every year since moving to Berlin six years ago. ‘Return’ marks a deeply personal journey to, and a reflective period, in the place of my childhood, where sketchbooks were filled with what may very well be the last moments spent in my family home as my parents pack up their boxes in search of a smaller home to retire in. ‘Return’ is a collection of visual references that move between recent pilgrimages back as well as collected memories and nuances of nostalgia.
Each painting is created from sketchbook drawings during my summer visits as well as retracing my memories to fleeting moments spent back home, always capturing the light and vibrance in my color palettes and compositions.
‘Return’ is currently running at O’Galeria in Lisbon, Portugal, until Friday, May 17th.
