SONG OF THE PICK -2012

SONG OF THE PICK-2012

SONG OF THE PICK - 2012 - Close up
This is a reproduction of a very famous work done by Gerard Sekoto during Apartheid.  Initially I was going to repaint the work and just add in my character.  I decided not to as I believe this work is well known enough that simply using the composition was enough of a connection.  Sekoto's work was a commentary on the society of the time-the physical strength of the black worker against the economical and authoritative strength of the white employee.  I have shifted this images composition only slightly, .I have added one character; a black man.  He stands between the workers and the white man.  He directs the workers, so he has some power, but that power still falls under the economical hand of the white man.  Politically we are living in a different society to the one Sekoto depicts, but economically how much have things actually changed?

This work has been cut out of paper.  I love this process for many reasons.  In this work I love that it is black and white, there is no colour, only light and dark.  I also love the fragility of the material which relates to the content and the uncertainty of South Africa post Apartheid.  I have always been told that I see the world too black and white, I have no mid tones.  This methodology proves that the world can be seen quite clearly in only black and white.

Comments

  1. LOVE. And love you also. You're excellent; then and now. I often feel so privileged that the time I spent in your place was only 3-4 years into the 'new' SA.. such a tenuous time! I recall one host I had telling me that Australia had 'done things right' and I reminded him that 200 years post occupation (with a whole side of genocide thrown in), we were still trying to figure things out. Big love to you x

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  2. Thank you for the comment! AAh this country still has far to go, but what an exciting time to live in. South Africans have a tendency to idealise anywhere else and only see the the negative in their own country. We have far to go and people are starting to get angry! With reason in my mind. People are still poor, still uneducated, still living without water, without electricity while others live in luxury...the extremities in this country between rich and poor are shocking. More shocking is the wealthy dismissing the whole thing!

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  3. I really enjoy your paper work MP. It's awesome. Plus the extra info you gave about your sense of black and white and the fragility of the paper adds context to the piece - thank you! Looking forward to seeing more, peeing back the layers of what we see and think. K

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  4. Thanks for the response Kate...It is really great to hear what people think of my works, my views...let me know what you think of The Mlungu Islands of SA...Ciao for now!

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  5. Interestingly the Vice Chancellor of The Free State University stated this morning on 702 that he has the most difficulty with kids from all white Afrikaans schools in adapting to university. There isolated world has a negative impact on their transition into the reality of the demographics within South Africa. A priority to me is that my children DO NOT attend a school that is majority white, and the vice chancellor expressed the same thoughts which I have.

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  6. ps...dont you love it when that happens!

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