Strength Is Her

Abstract

Description of Artwork The design concept was derived from material found in the special collections section of the Stellenbosch University Library. Three books that were of great influence and use throughout the research and creating process were: The Essential Kafir by Dudley Kidd, The Kafirs Illustrated by Georg French Angas and, most importantly, The Harmless People by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas. In The Harmless People, being one of the first documentations of engagement with an unfamiliar ethnic group, a series of events takes place. However, a deeper meaning of the events was used as the focal point of the design, namely the struggle for power and the issue of gender within the community. Depicting the elaborate events that revolved around Kwi’s wife are elements such as the ornaments she stripped off her own and children’s bodies to remove their status when leaving the group, the Tsamma melons indigenous to the Kalahari desert of Botswana where they lived, the honey bees of a tale told to remind of respect and ego, as well as the yellow leaves spoken of throughout the landscape. These were incorporated into the piece to describe and display the essence of the woman who chose to stand up for herself – one of the first signs of women empowerment, which at that time was not an important matter under male rule and dominance. This piece gives power to Kwi’s wife who goes unnamed.