Sue Williamson, born 1941, England (active South Africa) Search this
Medium:
Acetate, steel, plexiglass, wood
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 63.5 x 89.8 x 10 cm (25 x 35 3/8 x 3 15/16 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
South Africa
Date:
1996
Label Text:
This assemblage composed of two parts--"De Kock Ready to Sing" and "Poison Victim"--refers to admissions made before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. (The purpose of the commission was to investigate victims' accounts from the period of 1960 to 1994 and to consider amnesty for those who confessed their participation in atrocities.) The images were taken from newspapers. Williamson intended the prints to appear "as they might perhaps be displayed in a courtroom for the information of the jury" (Artist's statement, 1996).
"Poison Victim"
This is the story of Sipho Mtimkulu, who was arrested for distributing pamphlets. In jail he was fed rat poison, making him ill and causing his hair to fall out. After his release from jail, he was hospitalized and recovered. The second line of images shows a jubilant Mtimkulu going home to a hero's welcome--but soon after, he disappeared and has never been seen again. His mother's grief is captured in several of the prints.
Description:
Rectangular metal frame with two steel cables attached with eye bolts, with seven acetate images clipped onto the top row, eight on the bottom row. Two sheets depict newspaper accounts, five show an older woman with glasses, seven show a young man and one shows a photo of a young man.
Exhibition History:
Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 16, 2019–October 3, 2021
Insights, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., February 27 to November 28, 2004
The Earth Moves - We Follow: Celebrating African Art, Frank H. McClung Museum, Knoxville, January 10-May 18, 2003
Claiming Art / Reclaiming Space: Post Apartheid Art from South Africa, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 21-September 26, 1999
Published References:
Kreamer, Christine, Mary Nooter Roberts, Elizabeth Harney and Allyson Purpura. 2007. Inscribing Meaning: Writing and Graphic Systems in African Art. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution; Milan: 5 Continents Editions, pp. 142-143, no. 11.20b.
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