Notes

Ruby Swinney, an artist residing in Cape Town, has gained widespread recognition for her delicate oil paintings on silk and tracing paper. These artworks have the remarkable ability to transport viewers to an unfamiliar realm brimming with mysterious apparitions, reminiscent of a ‘parallel universe.’ Within her portrayals of partially familiar, ageless landscapes, she fills the scenes with figures that exude an otherworldly quality. Through her celestial creations, she captures a feeling of uncertainty and a longing for a disappearing natural world. Swinney’s choice to work with a monochrome color palette amplifies this emotion, enveloping each composition in a wistful mist that yearns for an alternate past.¹

^1. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/ruby-swinney-the-escapist, accessed 15 August 2023.

Provenance

WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, 2020.

Private Collection.