Sabire, Woman with Patience

Original painting SOLD, 1400 x 1400mm, 2008

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Print sizes and editions (limited to 95)

• Regular museum archival paper print - 700 x 700mm

Your unique limited edition fine art print

• Sofia Minson creates your exclusive signed print
• We ship for $25 in NZ and from $50 internationally
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The story of Sabire, Woman with Patience

Inspiration for this work came from an old Turkish woman Sofia met and photographed on her travels in 2008, who reminded her so much of the Maori kuia (elderly women) back home, including her own tipuna (ancestors). On a walk through the beautiful Kapadokyan landscape, Sofia briefly encountered the woman waiting patiently with her collection of scarves to display and sell to passers-by.

Unconsciously the ancient history of the land and civilization of Asia Minor weaved its way into this portrait. As Sofia painted the piece, layer-by-layer, the woman's wrinkles deepened and her character strengthened. Her immense whakapapa (genealogy) is suggested in her old yet glowing skin. The vastness of the region's history shows in the seriousness and wisdom of her gaze. The grooves of her face and the dark folds of her headscarf represent the weaving, bending and cyclical nature of life, and the flower-patterned scarf with its ornamental pearl edge brings an intricate, decorative quality to the painting.

On finishing the work Sofia chose the name Sabire, which is a Turkish name meaning "woman with patience". She felt that it encapsulated her own layered, lengthy painting process as well as the breadth of the old woman's spirit, which had continued to reveal itself over the three months it took to create the portrait.

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Sofia Minson Oil Paintings | New Zealand Artwork