Originally from Durban, South Africa, I have lived in London since 1997, and balance part-time school art teaching with working out of a studio in South East London. My body of work from the studio arises out of many smaller drawings on paper which I post regularly on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/walterhayn/). I regard the drawings as ‘seed ideas’ which may potentially grow into the larger works. In recent years I have been painting using a variety of unconventional media such as industrial silicone, fillers and bitumen, but now I have begun to focus on using silicone rubber almost exclusively.
I am inspired largely by the bible and my Christian faith, and deal with a variety of sub-themes through this prism, conscious of the way biblical stories have traditionally been used in an illustrative or narrative way throughout history, such as in altarpieces and in manuscripts and books. I therefore endeavour to depict iconic biblical events or themes in new ways, often through the lense of my own life-experiences, by using evocative materials, not to change their meanings, but to explore their meaning more deeply. One example might be the expansion of a mustard tree seed (a very small seed which was used as a measure of ‘faith’ by Jesus Christ), into a giant, planet-like seed, in a painting. This might hint at the faith that is needed to bring healing to the earth. Another example might be the imagining of the prophet Jonah about to be swallowed by a big fish, and his trying to evade it, thus alluding to the effects of environmental damage due to human-kind running, like Jonah, from its responsibility.
In this way my sub-themes such as: concerns for the environment, the evils of xenophobia and racism and the connections between faith and other contemporary disciplines and concerns emerge out of widely encompassing biblical themes.
Please enjoy browsing my site, and thank you for visiting!
Walter Hayn 