This photograph was taken on the 10th of August 2010. During mid-winter the air is cold and bulky, light travels easily and when the sun sets it projects a seamless line of light, horizontally across these mountains, the ‘Pieke’. Looking at the landscape from this angle is a different viewpoint of the mountains than seeing them from the center of town or when you enter the Jonkershoek reserve. The sun rises behind the ‘Pieke’ and shines onto this large print hanging on this building in town. If the viewer observes and analyzes this print, the ‘Pieke’ is behind the viewer. It creates a simulation where one stands inside of a camera to view the ‘Pieke’, so that it is projected onto a piece of film or in this case “the print”. The space between ‘Pieke’ and the print has become my area and my town.

Essay:

The world is not at home: here from there

Mirrored in Naudé’s photograph, that mountain now also projects its cold and quiet splendour from a position illusorily outside itself onto the town stooping below at its hard feet. Its gaze now shifted towards itself, the mountain nevertheless does not turn on itself – certainly not openly forthcoming in revealing that, although ‘the world is not at home’, it could become haven to all. Neither the mountain nor we can break the slow and curious crawl of its existence and, just so, it unveils time, place, and space as immutabilities to how we emerge from its continuity. Just so, it steadily defies our brittle pledges to a sheltered independence and self-containment. Rather, it’s now doubled-up, literally inter-facing, unwavering masses score an ever-inconclusive intra-relating between us that mark the impossibility of discerning not only illusion from reality, but also leaving from returning, now from then, and here from there.

Dr Elizabeth Gunter

23 June 2016

Hierdie foto is op 10 Augustus 2010 geneem. In die middel van die winter is die lug koud en swaar, lig beweeg maklik en wanneer die son sak, projekteer dit ʼn naatlose ligstreep horisontaal oor hierdie berge, die Pieke. As ʼn mens uit hierdie hoek na die landskap kyk, is dit vanuit ʼn ander gesigshoek van die berge as om hulle van die middel van dorp te bekyk of wanneer jy die Jonkershoekreservaat binnegaan. Die son kom agter die Pieke op en skyn op hierdie groot afdruk wat in hierdie gebou op die dorp hang. Indien die kyker hierdie afdruk waarneem en ontleed, is die Pieke agter die kyker. Dit skep ʼn simulasie van ʼn mens wat binne-in ʼn kamera staan om na die Pieke te kyk sodat dit op ʼn stuk film of in hierdie geval “die afdruk” geprojekteer word. Die ruimte tussen die Pieke en die afdruk het my gebied en my dorp geword.

Essay:

Die wêreld is nie tuis nie: hier van daar

Soos weerspieël in Naudé se foto, projekteer daardie berg ook nou sy koue en stil grootsheid vanaf ʼn posisie bedrieglik buite sigself af op die dorp wat laag benede sy harde voete buk. Die berg wat sy blik nou na homself verskuif, val nogtans nie sigself aan nie – sekerlik nie openlik toeganklik nie wanneer dit onthul dat, alhoewel ‘die wêreld nie tuis is nie’, dit vir almal ʼn veilige hawe kan word. Nog die berg nog ons kan die stadige en seldsame kruip van sy bestaan verbreek, en net so onthul dit tyd, plek en ruimte as onveranderlikhede ten opsigte van hoe ons uit sy kontinuïteit te voorskyn kom. Eweneens trotseer dit ons brose verbintenisse tot ʼn beskutte onafhanklikheid en selfgenoegsaamheid. Dit is nou eerder dubbel gevou, kyk letterlik na binne, onwrikbare massas teken ʼn immer-onafgehandelde intra-verbandhouding tussen ons aan wat die onmoontlikheid van onderskeiding nie slegs van illusie van die werklikheid kenskets nie, maar ook wegbeweeg van terugkeer, nou van dan, en hier van daar.

Dr Elizabeth Gunter

23 Junie 2016

Eli foto lathathwa ngomhla we10 kuAgasti ka2010. Ngexesha lasebusika umoya uyabanda kwaye unefuthe elikhulu, ukukhanya kuyakhawuleza kwaye xa ilanga litshona libonisa imitha enesiphelo esingabonakalisi mgca, nesime ngqo ukunqumleza ezi ntaba, i‘Pieke’. Xa ujonge ukumila komhlaba nokusingqongileyo, le engile isinika umbono owahlukileyo weentaba kunokuzibona zihleli embindini wedolophu okanye xa ungena kwidawo yolondolo iJonkershoek. Ilanga liphuma emva kwe‘Pieke’ lize ligqatse kumbhalo omkhkulu okhazimla luhlaza ojinga kwisakhiwo sedolophu. Ukuba umbukeli ubona aze ahlalutye olu shicilelo i‘Pieke’ umbona umva wombukeli. Idala umfanekiso olinganisa ukuba ubani ume phi kwikhamera ukujonga i‘Pieke’, ukuze iboniswe kwibinzana le filimu okanye kule meko “kushicilelo”. Umda ophakathi kwe‘Pieke’ noshicilelo isueke yaba ngummandla wam nedolophu yam.

Isicatshulwa:

Ilizwe alikho sekhaya: apha ukusuka phaya

Okuboniswa lifoto likaNaudé’, kukuba intaba ibonisa ukubanda kunye nocwangco kwimo yomfanekiso ngqondweni othwebulayo, ojonge kwidolophu evela emazantsi ezinyaweni zayo ezilukhuni. Ingqwalasela yayo ngoku isukile kuyo njengentaba, nangona kunjalo intaba ayijongi kuyo – hayi ngokuphandle ukutyhila le nto, nangona ‘ilizwe lingekho khaya’, isenokuba ligwiba (indawo yokhuseleko noxolo) kumntu wonke. Phakathi kwentaba nathi akukho namnye onako onokuphelisa ukucothoza okukhasayo kobukho bayo, kwaye njengoko kunjalo, iveza ixesha, indawo, kunye nezigaba ezihanjiweyo ezivela kwindlela eqhubeka nethi iphile ngayo. Njengoko kunjalo, kancinci iyazinyasha iindlela esifunga ngazo zokuba iyakuba ligwiba elizimeleyo kwaye izilawule ngokwayo. Endaweni yaloo nto, iphinda-phindiwe, isebenzisana nezinye izinto, uninzi olungagungqiyo nolungabaleki lugqibeke olunxibelelana phakathi kwethu noluphawula indlela ekunzima ngayo ukuqwalasela banzi iingcinga zokuthwetyulwa nenyaniso, nokuhamba kunokubuya, ngoku nangokuya, nalapha naphaya.