Hendrik Arie Baartman transforms basic shapes and colors into powerful compositions that depict light, shape, power, and mechanized form. The disparate parts of Baartman’s work are suspended between ground and foreground. His subject matter is vague, but familiar. The iconography is reminiscent of primitive, or ancient markings, yet seen through the scope of a surrealist lens. But the work feels contemporary, with a reductive palette that places the work in its own realm. Baartman’s work seems to speak about enlightenment through an aesthetic experience. His forms are elemental and mystical. They transcend cultural signification to speak about a broad visual experience. The conception of light as a form is particularly innovative. Baartman‘s representations of light are ambiguous and usually objectified rather than reflected. In addition, he uses negative space poignantly to show the absence of form and light. The work depicts environments that allude to feelings or mental states. These environments are created from basic symbols, which maintain a mythical representation on Baartmans’s picture plain. Baartman has exhibited internationally.