This is a series of paintings about an arranged marriage they are based on a sixteen year old young woman that I came into contact with

We talked a lot about her fears of marriage. There was she, very upset and nervous about going into the unknown yet with no doubt in her mind that she would go through with it. Then there was I, from a western background, trying to understand what she was going through, but knowing I could not fully comprehend it all. From the very beginning I held compassion for this young woman and also saw the artistic possibilities of attending a wedding from a different culture – it was a coincidence that for the past 18 months weddings have been a source of fascination to me.

I was really interested in the idea of every girl having their Cinderella moment, and then the actual realities of the day.

With the bride and groom’s permission I took photos throughout their wedding day. Before the ceremony the women and men were split up and put in different rooms and I was allowed to photograph in the men’s quarter. The pictures that I took there show that the turmoil was also shared by her husband-to-be. It is from these photos that I created seven paintings. I mixed traditional materials like watercolours with household paints and gloss to produce work which is graphical in its attention to detail, but conceptual in form.