Danielle Malherbe (SA 1966-) SHIMMERING SURFACE, oil on canvas, 100 by 100cm Artists statement I have submitted paintings from various series and stages of my development, but the common ideas and sentiments running through all the works are ‘Arcadia’ or ‘Paradise lost’ which can be interpreted as a longing for the state of innocence, a sense of belonging, and an idealised past. This elegiac tone runs through all my paintings of pools. They explore nostalgia, loss and sensuality. Withered flowers (The fragrance of decay) are in the process of ruin and decay, while fungi (You can eat me), feed on the rotting remains of other organisms. These can be seen as metaphors for the cycle of death and rebirth.