In early 2008, micro-electrodes implanted in Zak Benjamin's brain relieved the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. Zak regained his mobility. The burden of his second chance weighed heavily, and it was difficult to start work again.
An Oprah show, where a husband and wife told the audience that they had written each other a daily love-letter for 24 years, inspired Zak to make his wife a fifteen minute drawing every day. This painting is the first of those drawings translated into paint. It speaks of unshakeable peace and security—as the mountains around Jerusalem—in the face of the threats that seem to surround us.
South African painter and printmaker Zak Benjamin experienced a profound conversion when in his mid thirties. As a young man he had rejected the Christian Church along with the Christian Nationalist Government and its policy of Apartheid. For a while he struggled to find the imagery with which to express his newfound faith, and slowly learnt to practise his art in the freedom given by Christ.
In 1996 he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, an illness which has severely curtailed his output.
More of his work can be seen at www.zakbenjamin.com.
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© Copyright 2009 Zak Benjamin
I shot this with a wide open aperture to get the selective focus and the "impressionistic painting" effect, as some have called it. The term...
South African painter and printmaker Zak Benjamin experienced a profound conversion when in his mid thirties. ... read more »