Rudzani Nemasetoni, born 1962, South Africa Search this
Medium:
Etching on paper
Dimensions:
H x W: 14.4 x 17.2 cm (5 11/16 x 6 3/4 in.)
Type:
Print
Geography:
South Africa
Date:
1995
Series:
5/25
Label Text:
"Apartheid Scrolls, pages 12-13 (Labor Bureau, Afflux and Influx Control and Registration)" was inspired by Nemasetoni's father's passbook, the official identification document that black South Africans had to carry. It was used to restrict their movement within the country, particularly in urban areas where they were allowed to work but not reside. Nemasetoni saw the irony of the passbook, which had beautifully decorated pages but was used for the ugliest of purposes. Its transformation from an object that was witness to the injustice of the apartheid system to artworks underscored the absurdity of ideologies and social systems based on the differences of race, religion, gender and culture.
Description:
Etching on paper of a worn and tattered passbook with signatures, dates and stamps.
Exhibition History:
Body of Evidence-Rotation 1, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 14-October 15, 2006
Claiming Art / Reclaiming Space: Post Apartheid Art from South Africa, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 21-September 26, 1999
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