A recent art exhibition shed light on how the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) failure to prosecute apartheid-era crimes has intensified calls for commemoration and confrontation from artists and civil groups.
This is according to Haroon Gunn-Salie, artist of the live exhibition titled “Uncovering / Recovering the Past”.
The live exhibition, titled “Uncovering/Recovering the Past” was recently hosted in Stellenbosch. According to Odette Geldenhuys, human rights lawyer and speaker at the event, themes like apartheid, brutality, truth and art are particularly apparent in Stellenbosch. PHOTO: Nadia Swart
SMF News attended the launch of the exhibition, which took place on 21 May at the Stellenbosch University Museum.
The event explored the newly reopened inquest into the 1969 death of anti-apartheid cleric, Imam Abdullah Haron, while in police detention. This is according to Westley Ceasar, senior research coordinator for the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and The Reparative Quest (AVReQ).
“We are acting for a cause, which is post-TRC access to justice, and part of that is carried or amplified by art,” said Odette Geldenhuys, human rights lawyer and speaker at the event.
“Uncovering/Recovering the Past” made use of sound, sculpture and archival material to explore how artistic practices can be used to provoke public reflection, said Gunn-Salie.
“I want to make a noise [with my art] but for that to be heard, for it to be advanced and progressive,” he said.
The silhouette installations, showcasing a multitude of injuries, were used as evidence in the reopened inquest into Imam Abdullah Haron’s death. This is according to Haroon Gunn-Salie, artist of the live exhibition titled “Uncovering / Recovering the Past”. PHOTO: Nadia Swart
Geldenhuys explained that the case of Imam Abdullah Haron is particularly of interest because it speaks to a larger problem of a lack of political willingness to pursue such cases.
“After concerted effort by the Haron-family, there was eventually political willingness to reopen the inquest and that willingness lies with the National Prosecuting Authority and the minister of justice,” she said.
Geldenhuys also emphasised that the family applied to reopen the inquest in 2019, but that it was only acted upon in 2022.
A recent live exhibition at the Stellenbosch University Museum included a 12-minute soundscape that immersed the audience in a layered auditory “meditation” which evoked historical memory and emotional reminiscence. This is according to Haroon Gunn-Salie, artist of the live exhibition titled “Uncovering / Recovering the Past”. PHOTO: Nadia Swart
“This art should not be telling people what to think but should be confronting people with information,” she said. “The legal system can change through interpretation and reinterpretation which takes us to a different place.”
According to Ceasar, the live exhibition was presented by AVReQ.
Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, director of AVReQ, said that events like these are essential in connecting the younger generation with the events of the past and “the continuation of this conversation is very important for the country as part of the process of repair”.
Gunn-Salie said that he does not refer to the term “post-apartheid”, but rather “post-TRC”.
“Maybe it wasn’t that apartheid ended, but that we had this TRC which was the democratic turn […] and for better or worse, we’re here now,” he said.