Faye Pearson-Jones

"COFFEE STATION"
Oil Painting
61 x 91.5 cm

Centuries ago, my ancestors' lives converged upon a remote hill station in South India. Later, my grandfather met a
fortune-teller who told him he would cultivate a drink so beautiful that people would consume it across the world.
With passionate dedication, he learned everything he could about the art of growing coffee and built up a livelihood from
very little.
Coffee Station is a very personal journey into my childhood, a historical document recounting coffee being planted and
picked, of stopping for a roadside refresher on our long journey from the city and watching the vendor pour milky coffee
into a glass. It is above all, a celebration of the artisan, the vitality and tenacity of humanity to create something out of
nothing and the warm-spirited, good humour of this inventiveness. The motorcycle, or coffee station is also a symbol of
transition, of communities moving towards modernisation. The sunbird pictured is an important call to foster ecological
relationships, to nurture valuable habitat and its glorious biodiversity through sustainable practices, thereby creating a
more wholesome, richer experience for future generations.