The  weft – those varied horizontal threads that provide the colour, pattern and the pictorial surface to woven cloth  – can be seen as the figures, images, objects and surroundings that Roberts so painstakingly depicted, and the symbolic meanings that they suggest. He stated that his paintings essentially seek to evoke a sense of mystery that resonates with the viewer, or to suggest a poetic promise of meaning, but never closure.

However, his recurring symbols provided abundant material for interpretation. Many works show a robed woman, sitting or standing quietly or engaged in some activity, yet always calm and tranquil. She is an archetype, not a specific person: a Madonna or mother, sister or daughter, teacher or a bearer of new life. Perhaps a metaphor for some aspect of the human condition, such as human spirituality or the unconscious, the meditative and the instinctive; she is juxtaposed with myriad other signs. These include the mundane, everyday world: plastic chairs, crates and bowls; allusions to Africa – such as enclosures made from thatch or sticks – references to Europe or the East in roses, patterned hangings, embroidered cloths or trellises.

Through these images, Roberts alluded to various cultural traditions. One is the tradition of Western painting that peaked during the Italian Renaissance (the bird, for example, may represent the angel of the annunciation), as well as parts of ancient Greece, Rome, the Gothic era and Middle East. Traces can be found of Nigerian Iife figures, Picasso’s Mediterranean women, the painting on Fulani and many other visual sources.

Edited from a text by Ingrid Stevens 2004

January/February 2011 Issue

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