Lion 1999

Rosemary Karuga made this Lion from paper collage, and right away, I'm thinking about how she turned something as simple as scraps into something so vibrant. It’s an image built from many small pieces and, like a painting, each piece is considered, each has its place. The lion strides across the image, constructed from tessellating shards of golden yellow. I love the way Karuga uses found images, bits of text and colour, to build up the animal’s form. The lion almost disappears among the flowers and foliage, yet his yellow coat separates him from the background, like a flat graphic, a design, or an image from a child’s book. I find myself wondering about that line of white rectangles that separates the lion's belly from the flowers – is that a found image, or a compositional strategy? This playful use of material reminds me of Henri Matisse’s late paper cut-outs, not so much in style but in its joyful spirit. It’s a simple image, but it celebrates the magic of making.