Today is the official opening of the Woordfees in Stellenbosch, so I thought it would be a good time to publish my Artist Statement for my solo exhibition titled: Stink Afrikaners at this years festival:

Tagetes erecta African Marigold/Stink Afrikaners

Die plant African Marigold, in Latyns bekend as Tagetes erecta en in ons volksmond as Stink Afrikaners is die inspirasie vir hierdie reeks werke.  Die title van die reeks is n woordspeling op stink, wat beide n Afrikaanse en Englese woord is, en Afrikaners, mense woonagtig in Afrika or mense wat Afrikaans praat.  Die reeks as n geheel verwys na die African Marigold as plant en veral die oorsprong en geskiedenis daarvan.

Native to the Americas, where it is known as the Mexican marigold and the Aztec marigold, this plant was gathered in the wild by the Aztec to be used for medicinal, ceremonial and decorative purposes.  The flower of the plant, also called “flower of death” is still used in the annual Mexican festival Dia de los Muertos each year.  It is also commonly planted in cemeteries. It was this reference to death and the context of Afrikaans as a living language which I wanted to explore in this series of work.