(The Rescue of Harrison Okene -

Commission - On display at Jacks Dive Chest, Strand, Cape Town

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Oil on canvas
2000mm x 1000mm

(79 inches) x (39 inches)

 

Please watch the video to make sense of the commissioned painting.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=um1ym9u8XaA

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I am posting the amazing video to make sense of the painting. Harrison was a chef on a boat that sunk off the Nigerian coast. Divers trained in Cape Town were sent down to the sunken boat. Much to their surprise and that of Harrison, Harrison was alive and had survived for a few days in a pocket of air. The moment the diver touches his hand and realizes he is alive is the focal point of the painting. Harrison is extracted from the boat and since his miraculous rescue he went on to train as a professional diver. Trevor Bernard Bailey sent me the video link. The only footage I could work from. I have replayed this video hundreds of times to extract references, but also found myself lost in the moment and whilst painting constantly played the audio in my head of the divers talking to him and each other. This painting is off to Cape Town to tell the story over and over and to honour the divers and Harrison, who survived the terrifying ordeal. Another painting that is embedded in my mind and soul.