Annunciation II, 2014

Leading South African artist, Deborah Bell, is a frequent collaborator with David Krut Workshop (DKW) where she has produced a number of prints over the years. Bell’s work is fundamentally informed by a search for the ‘self’ for which she draws on spiritual imagery found in ancient sources as well as memories linked to her spiritual beliefs and to how she self-defines as an artist in Africa.

Bell’s Annunciation series is not about the Christian story of the annunciation, but about personal transformation. The angel is a recurring image, beckoning towards change. Annunciation I, II and III feature a lion, which is commonly associated with courage and power, but, for Bell, it symbolizes a wounded self moving towards a more actualised self. In this series, the angel figure is calling for this shift.