Collected Moments of Survival

  While out searching for gambroo (a wild plant resembling a cucumber) a group of sisters of the desert came across a wily old Mantis. Knowing that children are curious and could possibly try to capture him the old Mantis used his magic powers to transform himself into a Hartebees. The Mantis also knew that these children would not be carrying knives and therefore would not be able to dismember his body with the flint knives that they knew how to fashion out of stone.   However, when the children straw him stretched out on the sand they saw that his horns were turned backwards. They jumped for joy at the sight of this great animal just lying there and knew that there would be great celebration that night if they took home the meat. The older children had learned how to strike the stone in just the right way to make a knife and they set about it with great fervour.   As they were skinning the Hartebeest the Mantis snatched back his skin and the children had to work togethe...

It’s time to talk about elephants and auctions. I have been banging on a bit about it in the last few weeks and I thought it was appropriate to join the dots.   My journey with Voortrekker began a year ago now. Splashed all over social media was the damning evidence that a gentle giant, an African spirit, was no more. At the time I was working on another exhibition that was entrenched in the desert sands of Africa. It was called Echoes in the Dunes.   Perhaps it was that connection that drove me to decide to do more, however, that is where the journey had its origins. Now, we are where I set the target. One year later, the anniversary of the death of Voortrekker and I’m looking for a whole bunch of people to open their hearts, minds and purses to help the Desert Elephants of Damaraland. In the meantime, the world has changed in a way that none of us ever imagined it could. We’re hunkered down, moaning and groaning. Each of us more concerned about our economic viability than we...