MY AFRICAN WILD DOGS

WORK 1

Title: 21+1+1
Dimensions: Height 100cm, Width 70cm
Materials: Ink/Collage on Fabriano
Print Edition: 10
Print Materials: Ink print on Hahnemeule
Description: Overpopulation: Does any person have the right to procreate 23 times?
Romulus and Remus were fed by a mothering wolf.
In contradiction to this concept, 21+1+1 Zumbabas destructively feed off my African wild dog. Characteristic features of the Zumbabas are deafness, gluttony, greed and self-centricity.
The African wild dog faces extinction under the ever increasing demands of humans.
(There are currently only 397 African wild dogs left in South Africa and less than 5 000 in Africa.)

Title: Red Thread
Dimensions: Height 100cm, Width 70cm
Materials: Ink/Collage on Fabriano
Print Edition: 10
Print Materials: Ink print on Hahnemeule
Description: The forced social vulnerability of women.
I am awed by the social behaviour of African wild dogs! Wild dogs are monogamous, nurturing the offspring is a collective effort and leadership changes are non violent.
Humans are the opposite and leave me in despair! Our Rainbow Nation is the violent rape capital of the world! The reported rate of 4.7 rapes per hour is in reality much higher as most rapes remain unreported.
Credit to Photographer: Nicholas Dyer, Wild Dogs Image | Wildlife – Photography

Title: X
Dimensions: Height 100cm, Width 70cm
Materials: Ink/Collage on Fabriano
Print Edition: 10
Print Materials: Ink print on Hahnemeule
Description: Xenophobia: The fear of anything strange or foreign.
If we peel away the layers of the “unknown”, we are all the same. Red blood pulses through our veins – whether dog or human.
Over 300 foreigners have been killed in Xenophobic violence in South Africa since 2008.
African wild dogs, also known as “the painted wolf”, “the devil’s dog” and “ruthlessly accurate killing machine”, have been gravely misunderstood and killed throughout time.

Title: 67/2014
Dimensions: Height 100cm, Width 70cm
Materials: Ink/Collage on Fabriano
Print Edition: 10
Print Materials: Ink print on Hahnemeule
Description: Farm Murders: Gruesome killings!

Overhead hangs a dead African wild dog from a farm gate. The crow - darkness and death’s spirit - quietly looks on.
My steel plate of the dead represents the 67 murders in 2014 and reflects on the eight steps to a possible genocide. If we ignore the warning signs we ignore the facts.
No less than 3 000 farmers have been murdered since 1994. The severe violent, brutal hatred and torturous methods by which these murders take place leave me at a crossroad of distress.

Title: Fusion
Dimensions: Height 100cm, Width 70cm
Materials: Ink/Collage on Fabriano
Print Edition: 10
Print Materials: Ink print on Hahnemeule
Description: “Myself-Interconnected”, “Interconnected Fusion”
I am overwhelmed by anxiousness due to the current situation in my country. I see everything as a bigger interconnected whole, where mankind is the most destructive element. Our greed and narcissism are destroying everything.
I am hanging upside down with a circular mirror positioned under me. The circle’s flawless shape renders it sacred. By having no beginning or end, it symbolizes the cycle of life.
The reflection in the mirror symbolizes truth and introspection. Reflection being the gateway to the realm of inversion. I wish I could propel myself through this gateway of inversion, opening up the possibility of tracing back and undoing mankind’s destructive path.

Please note: All sources are acknowledged on my website under resources