During the run-up to the National Elections that took place this year, name slinging and historical alliances became one of the most visible aspects of the electoral strategies of numerous of the most prominent parties. The symbol of struggle: slipping from the lexicon of freedom and becoming an emblem of power relating not to the people, but to a group of elite politicians.
Submerged Struggle, takes this icon and subverts it to stand for the silent struggle that our relationship to the environment takes in juxtoposition to the seemingly more pressing social needs of housing and employment.
Eight raw clay fists were placed in the water features that frame the front façade of the South African Museum (previously the Natural History Museum). As the Company Gardens runs past parliament, this takes on dual political and environmental nuances and due to the timing (the day before the National Elections) heightened security ensured that these potentially volatile symbols were removed soon after installation.
Three however were overlooked and during the course of the day and into the following day, these symbols of struggle slipped unnoticed into the water to disintegrate alongside the environment’s importance in the political parties’ policies of government.
No comments:
Post a Comment