South African artist Joni-Leigh Doran is pleading with social media giants Facebook to reactivate her accounts after an impersonator had “gained fraudulent access” to them.
Saddened, Doran took to her Instagram last week to warn her fans about the blocked accounts.
Fearing that her social media accounts may be permanently disabled, Doran also appealed to South Africans to assist her get accounts reinstated.
She wrote: “As of today, I have zero access to my personal and Fine Arts pages. Facebook had decided that I violated the terms and had subsequently disabled my accounts.
“I tried every route available and followed all the links I can find online to no avail. I am not giving up yet but for the time being, I will be active only here on Instagram.”
The Cape Town-based creative further explained to her fans how this has impacted her, considering that as an artist she gets her business from these social media platforms.
“This is a killer for a small business. I am heartbroken because 99% of my business came from @facebook and @facebookmarketplace. I will need your help to get back to where I was. I’m still fighting, but for now, I am accepting the reality of the situation I am in.
“I also personally lost 15 years of pictures, posts, memories, and connections. I’m sad. So far, I still have access to my Instagram accounts, in spite of an impersonated account at @leighjoni2000 who is NOT me and has gained fraudulent access to my Facebook pages.”
Doran works predominantly in the traditional medium of oil paint on canvas and linen.
Although formally trained as a graphic designer, Joni-Leigh has been drawing and painting all her life and has worked with renowned South African artists such as Ryno Swart and Derek van Rensburg.
Animals and natural landscapes have always provided her with limitless inspiration and she aims to depict the beauty and fragility of the non-human world through her work.
A percentage of the proceeds of all painting sales goes directly into funding wildlife conservation programmes.
In her latest exhibition “Cognisance An Exhibition of Equine Paintings,” Doran pays homage to the horses she has known and loved.
“These paintings are an enquiry into the spirit of the horse, and the deep and historical interconnectedness between us and them.
“The ephemeral portrayal of them in these works accentuates the opposing circumstances that horses currently face in cohabitation with humans, transcendence and tribulation,” Doran told IOL Entertainment in a previous interview.
These paintings are Doran’s way to honour the horses she loved. They all depict horses that she has known personally.
“When I was at school, they called me a horse girl. I spent almost all the free time I had drawing them when I wasn’t able to be with them. They (horses) embody so much of what in my mind humanity should aspire to.”