While studying for my post graduate degree Political Science and International Politics [Honors / Masters] during 1969, we had access to an exclusive and secured library with books that were not generally available to students or the public. The majority of these books were communist and Marxist tomes. During the 1980’s when I taught Art and History of Art, books that told stories and facts about the Apartheid era of 1948 up still the 1980’s suddenly appeared and became available. Like for example: Lest We Forget by Philip Kgosana; Call Me Woman by Ellen Kuzwayo, In no uncertain Terms by Helen Suzman; The Foundations of the South African cheap Labour system by Norman Levy; Maids and Madams by Jacklyn Cock, etc. etc.
During the late 1960’s & 1970’s I supported the Progressive Party whose leader Helen Suzman was the only representative of this party in Parliament. Their fight was against the many draconian Apartheid Laws that were promulgated. Later I became a member of the Black Sash movement that was started by a group of Jewish women who also protested against Parliament changing the constitution as well as campaigned against Apartheid laws. During the 1980’s I painted a series of paintings shown in this section of my work, that present these themes. I felt that too few people knew the true facts about what had so cleverly been hidden from public, and which newspapers were not allowed to publish. Therefore, I felt driven to inscribe some of my paintings, all around, to form borders or frames. These inscriptions are imbedded with each of the relative paintings and can be read there.
Wherever I would be, I may see a figure which captured my attention because of the ethos he or she represented. And this again of course linked up with the information that I obtained from the material that I read and studied.
PORTRAITS AND OBJECTS OF ‘THE OTHER’
Before listing the paintings with their relative information, I though need to add the following to render a perspective on South Africa of today 2019. There are important factors that influenced and impact the situation in South Africa today. The Black people of SA, ‘The Other’ in the heading, number ± 50 mil, [without counting millions that have crossed illegally into SA from Africa since the late 1980’s] – consist of 11 main tribes – versus Europeans that are only ± 5 million. This enormous discrepancy in numbers, is a situation that has been totally lost on people overseas that consistently criticized South Africa. The black people are uneducated in comparison to European or Eastern peoples and have a totally different world view and culture than that of Europeans. The majority are mostly pagans and support the belief of Ancestral Worship and Witch doctors. A democratic government system is totally foreign to their centuries old cultures. Those that fled SA during the Apartheid era, ended up in Russia and were fed Communist and Marxist ideology. They returned to SA after the ANC and Communist parties were unbanned in …….. The government and South Africa, a totally functioning first world country with prime infrastructure, was literally handed over to these communist and socialist influenced Blacks, on ‘a silver platter’ after the referendum held in 1992. A full analysis and discussion do not fit here, but suffice to say that after highly educated presidents Mandela and Mbeki, unbelievably uneducated and rapacious leaders took over since ……. All the above have resulted in the most vicious and barbaric attacks against farmers [mainly European], corruption, murders, robberies and high-jackings committed against especially white people as well as the illogical & short sighted arson and destruction of their own schools, busses, facilities etc. Whereas in 1978 $1 was equal to ZAR1, today 2020, the country rich with diamonds, gold, iron, coal, uranium, platinum, etc. has been plundered and is bankrupt and has been downgraded to Junk status March 2020.
Facts regarding Apartheid: inscriptions on the borders of some Paintings
Available Prints:
| Image | Description |
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