art treatise
the sea
A mix of past and present seascapes inspires Andre Snyman to
channel mood and rhythm through art
By Emory Rakestraw
ALLISON POTTER
“THERE are times, they occur with increasing fre-quency
nowadays, when I seem to know nothing,
when everything I know seems to have fallen out of
my mind like a shower of rain, and I am gripped for
a moment in paralyzed dismay, waiting for it all to
come back with no certainty that it will.”
On an Instagram post of his work There Are Times, artist Andre
Snyman included a screenshot of the above quote from John
Banville’s novel The Sea. In the painting, the foreboding gray
landscape dominates, but there is hope on the yellow horizon as
sunbeams push through the clouds.
In the novel, retired art historian Max Morden returns to the
seaside town of Ballyless after the death of his wife. The land-scape
holds memories of childhood, a formative summer holiday,
and reflection of the past and present.
Like the protagonist, Snyman has memories of childhood in a
seaside town. Mossel Bay, South Africa, serves as a meditation
when it comes time to paint his overflowing yet muted seascapes
where water and sky comingle for dominance on the canvas.
“I like the seascapes because it reminds me of home in South
Africa. I grew up in this small town made up of long beaches and
I spent my whole life there until I was 27,” says Snyman. “When
38 january 2022
WBM