project description
Waymark
1999 - Monument (Voortrekker)
The image of Voortrekker Monument is a familiar sight to those entering or living in Pretoria, South Africa’s capital. Initially its construction was linked to a vow made to God by the Afrikaner people should they obtain victory over their enemies (in this instance the natives of the land).
I’ve always lived in Pretoria and I remember this peculiar building as an image that permeated my youth. What is interesting about this building now is its dreamlike quality. A castle built on sand, but standing still, a casket emptied of its historic glory, the remnant of a past best forgotten by many. To convey the haunting surreal feel of this monument in its unkempt landscape, l shot this scene through the same blue Perspex I used for the broken window, in a way putting it in same world as the broken window, a reminder of what happened in the past, with this heavy history behind it. It’s interesting what we do with this reminder, do we remove it, do we replace it like one would install a new window? I like the idea of replacing, not so much physically but more metaphysically. We cannot forget our past, but we can choose how to see things differently.
