LP 010 43:16 — No Game

43:16 — No Game is an original acrylic painting from my Limited Palette Series — a growing collection of small, individually numbered artworks created using black, white and just a handful of carefully chosen colours.

This painting was prompted by a news report about deaths at traditional initiation schools in South Africa. At the time, 43 young initiates had reportedly died, while just 16 initiation schools had been closed. Written as 43:16, the numbers looked almost like a sporting score. They reminded me of my earlier painting, 2026: Better Luck Next Time, inspired by Bafana Bafana's homecoming. That work celebrated the comfort of returning to people who love you, regardless of the result. Except this was no game.

Here, two young initiates stand together in the veld, wrapped in white blankets with crimson stripes. Their faces are obscured, their futures unknown. I wanted to respect the cultural significance of traditional initiation while questioning what happens when rites of passage intended to guide boys into manhood fail to protect them.

The painting was shortlisted for Art School Africa's 2026/27 Atlas of Songs Summer Exhibition. For me, the work speaks to questions of belonging, community and our collective responsibility towards the boys we raise.

Like every work in the Limited Palette Series, this painting forms part of an ongoing visual diary — observations, moments of curiosity and stories that emerge through the process of painting.

Original acrylic on hardboard
34 × 28 × 3.5 cm, including frame
Professionally framed in natural kiaat wood
Individually numbered LP010 as part of the Limited Palette Series
Ready to hang