I posted a blog some time back about an exhibition in August 2018 of works from the Keiskamma Art Project at the FADA gallery, University of Johannesburg Bunting Rd campus. Having learnt something about the project I turned to looking at other works which were not included in this exhibition. One such work is the renowned Keiskamma Altarpiece based on Grünewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece. It is shown below on exhibition in Grahamstown in 2005 along with the Democracy Tapestry which was included in the exhibition at the FADA gallery, UJ. Both these works are currently on show at Constitution Hill until 25th March 2023 at a retrospective exhibition of the Keiskamma Art Project entitled Umaf’ evuka, nje ngenyanga/Dying and Rising as the Moon Does.
A little about the Democracy Tapestry (also on show at the Constitution Hill Exhibition)
The Democracy Tapestry 2004 is about 50 m long and comprises 14 narrative panels. It is now in the collection of the Witwatersrand Art Museum [WAM]. While some panels (as below) speak of the benefits and improvements to standards of living post 1994, other panels refer to the failure of service delivery and a break down in law and order. Like the 2004 Keiskamma Tapestry seen above (some 120 m in length and on loan to the Houses of Parliament), the Democracy Tapestry is modelled on the 11th Century Bayeux tapestry. However like all the Keiskamma Art Project works, while the genre, practice and technique might be inspired by an artwork from history and from Europe, removed in time and place, the context and content is always local.
Keiskamma Altarpiece 2005, mixed media, 4.15 × 6.8 m
The Keiskamma Altarpiece drew inspiration from Matthias Grünewald’s massive and highly complex 16th C altarpiece commissioned by St. Anthony’s Monastery in France for the high altar of their chapel. St Anthony’s functioned as a hospital specializing in the treatment of the disease known as St Anthony’s fire, (now known as ergotism), a leprosy-like illness which caused sores and gangrene and a very slow death. The overall themes of the 3 openings of the panels in the Keiskamma Altarpiece show:
- in the closed panels: the grief and suffering caused by deaths from the HIV/AIDS pandemic
- in the first opening the different forms of religious and spiritual intervention to overcome this fear and hardship
- and in the second and final opening the final resilience and hope for a cure.
The Isenheim Altarpiece shows a similar overall message but with different iconography.
- in the closed panels: the Crucifixion of Christ with Saints on either side
- the first opening: the Annunciation, Nativity and Resurrection
- the second opening: St Anthony, patron saint of the Monastery who cared for the sick. along with scenes from his life
The theme of the 16th Century plague resonated strongly with the Eastern Cape communities who were suffering at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. And also on a more positive and affirming level, the artists drew a parallel between AIDS and other diseases that were once terminal but that are now no longer a threat. This was particularly apposite as, when this altarpiece was started in early 2005, anti-retroviral drugs were still being withheld by the South African government. As the policy changed, people gained access to the drugs and their health improved. Carol talks about ‘the Lazarus effect’ being ‘stitched into’ this massive work. Like Grünewald’s, the altarpiece is the same size and format, constructed as a series of hinged panels—fourteen in all—that open to create three different configurations.
Isenheim Altarpiece 1512-1516 by Matthias Grünewald: closed panels
Keiskamma Altarpiece: Closed panels
The central panels of the Keiskamma Altarpiece when closed, depict a widow, with, on her left, children orphaned by AIDS, and on her right grandmothers who step in to look after the parentless children. In the wing panels are two elders from the Hamburg community: Leginah Mapuma, a widow, in red Anglican church garments, and on the right Susan Paliso. Susan’s son, Dumile, died at the age of 35 in 2002 of an AIDS-related illness. Susan took care of her orphaned grandson Lihle.
From the mood of grief, loss and mourning in the closed panels, the doors open to a riot of joyful colour and abundance . The traditional biblical scenes of Annunciation, Nativity and Resurrection are envisioned as a new order in the Keiskamma Altarpiece where suffering is no more. The centre panel of the Keiskamma Altarpiece shows the meeting of Christian and traditional Xhosa rituals. At the top left of the centre panel worshippers are depicted meeting outside a church while below a bull is slaughtered, a ritual that connotes celebration and thanksgiving. In huge scale on the right of the central panel is an image of Vuyisile Funda known by the community as Gaba. A holy man he went to the beach every morning and ran patterns into the sand on the dunes with his footprints. For him it was a way of worshipping and giving thanks and giving expression to the messages he received from God. His giant footprints are embroidered in the right panel as well. The footsteps forming prayers in the sand all symbolize a vision of hope and new life. In the left panel birds and butterflies fly above a lush landscape where cattle graze and on the right fish (traditionally a symbol of Christ) surround an image of Hamburg mapped in a circle.
Isenheim Altarpiece: Second Opening
Keiskamma Altarpiece: Second opening.
The final set of panels is opened to reveal life-size black and white photographs of local Hamburg grandmothers with their grandchildren: Susan Paliso and Lihle on the left; AIDS counsellor Eunice Mangwane with 3 children and Carolin Nyongo with her 4 dependents. These strong women are the backbone of the community and of families as they step into heading up households and bringing up orphaned family members. They are framed and protected by a bower of 3 dimensional representations of Coral and Acacia trees made with wire beadwork. This motif echoes Grünewald’s wooden lattice work. In the wing panels, the landscape of the Keiskamma river and mountains is shown, inscribed with the names of the artists as well as many relatives who had died of AIDS. They have been laid to rest and are at peace in the eternal present of the afterlife -represented by the natural features of the Hamburg landscape.
For more context see video: Art of Healing For more detailed discussion on this fascinating work see Brenda Schmahmann’s 2016 monograph on The Keiskamma Art Project.
Tourism potential for Hamburg
The Keiskamma Altarpiece has traveled to England, Canada, and throughout the United States and has been shown at various venues in South Africa. Although purchased in 2012 by GT Ferreira of Rand Merchant Bank, the work has been back in Hamburg since 2014. Just as the Owl House in a small village like Nieu Bethesda near Graaff Reinet in the Karoo, attracts visitors who contribute to the local economy, so this extraordinary work, and the entire Keiskamma Art Project, acts as a drawcard to the small village of Hamburg. It is certainly something worth making a special trip to see.