Patching Up a Community in Distress

all photos by Paul Mills, except where otherwise notedThe Keiskamma Art Project in Hamburg in the Eastern Cape of South Africa has become well known for making large-scale works, primarily in needlework but often incorporating other media, which rework iconic art objects from the West in such a way as to focus on local issues of concern. In this article I examine one such work. The Keiskamma Guernica (Fig. 1), begun late in 2009 and completed midway through 2010, is constituted from appliquéed textiles and includes embroidery as well as elements in wire, metal, and beadwork that have been collaged to its surface. An adaptation of Picasso's famous Guernica (1937; Fig. 2) which takes as its subject matter the horrific impact of the bombing of the historic town of Guernica in Spain by German forces working in cooperation with fascist leader Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War,1 the Keiskamma Art Project's version speaks of the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on Hamburg and its surrounds.This was by no means the first time the Keiskamma Art Project had produced a work focused on HIV/AIDS. The project's Keiskamma Altarpiece (2005; Fig. 3) represented responses to the disease and the community's provision of support to the numerous youngsters whom AIDS had orphaned, by referring to the Isenheim Altarpiece (Fig. 4) which had been commissioned in the early sixteenth century by the religious order of St. Anthony, who cared for victims of ergotism, a devastating leprosy-like skin condition. Achieving particular notice through its exhibition at the Fowler Museum at UCLA in 2006 as well as its display at numerous churches in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom over a period of more than two years, the Keiskamma Altarpiece was also shown at various venues in South Africa and, in 2013, travelled to Germany.The Keiskamma Altarpiece was made shortly after Carol Hofmeyr, a medical doctor and artist who founded the Keiskamma Art Project in 2000, had secured private funding that enabled about eight people in the community to acquire antiretroviral treatment and simultaneously with the rollout of government-sponsored antiretroviral medication first reaching Hamburg. As I have observed previously (Schmahmann 2010), its message of hope would be especially apt as the work took shape while the health of people was improving dramatically and, it seemed, almost miraculously. I have also observed that this message of optimism would underpin smaller altarpieces referring to the impact of HIV/AIDS made immediately subsequent to the Keiskamma Altarpiece, in late 2005 and early 2006,2 as well as the project's large-scale Creation Altarpiece, which was completed in 2007.3 But, as I indicate in the present article, there is a distinct shift in the mood and tenor in the Keiskamma Guernica which, rather than being imbued with a spirt of positivity as well as confidence about the community's capacity to survive the onslaught of HIV/AIDS, suggests severe suffering and profound despair experienced in Hamburg and its surrounds. As the Keiskamma Art Project (2010a) observed, the work is “a lament for the dead, for the injustices of our health system and the staggering grief experienced in Eastern Cape villages today.”In interpreting meanings within the Keiskamma Guernica, one would want to consider the implications of using a well-known European artwork as its prototype and how this may affect a reading of its content. While being mindful of the fact that people in the Keiskamma Art Project, other than Hofmeyr and a handful of members with a tertiary education, probably have no knowledge of postmodernist theory, Linda Hutcheon's definition of parody as a genre which involves “repetition with critical distance which marks difference rather than similarity” (Hutcheon 1985:6) is nevertheless useful for suggesting something about the relationship between works by the project and the iconic artworks to which they refer. In the case of Keiskamma Guernica, for example, Hutcheon's definition suggests that qualities which the work has in common with Picasso's Guernica may actually emphasize the respects in which the South African work is different to its prototype. Apart from drawing attention to the fact that the Keiskamma Guernica is about circumstances particular to 2010 rather than 1937 and indeed about a devastating disease rather than about civil war, its reference to Picasso's work might be understood to emphasize respects in which it speaks of paradigms and frameworks of people in South Africa rather than those of a Spaniard living in France.Purchased by the Red Location Museum in the Eastern Cape city of Port Elizabeth shortly after it was unveiled at the National Arts Festival held in Grahamstown4 midway through 2010, the Keiskamma Guernica was shown briefly at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg in 2011, was included in the Venice Biennale in 2012, and travelled to the South African National Gallery in Cape Town in 2013. Small copies of the work were included in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC in 2012 as well as in the A.R.T. Show, curated by Carol Brown and David Gere, which opened in KZNSA Gallery in Durban in South Africa that same year, and details of the Keiskamma Guernica were constituted into a set of stamps to mark World AIDS Day in 2013.5 Despite this exposure, the Keiskamma Guernica has not been given the detailed engagement accorded the Keiskamma Altarpiece and has in fact been discussed only in reviews (see Anon. 2010, Markman 2010), engagements comprising just a few paragraphs (see, for example, Ravasio 2012), and a small pamphlet the project made available at the 2010 National Arts Festival (Keiskamma Art Project 2010a). In addressing this absence of of the I hope to about in HIV/AIDS that subsequent to and how had a on the and treatment of subject matter in the Keiskamma with a of the work by on the project as well as a of responses to HIV/AIDS in Hamburg. As I have previously the of Hamburg as well as the circumstances which to the of the Keiskamma Art Project (Schmahmann I only a of that the in of HIV/AIDS is on that had impact on the of the Keiskamma Guernica rather than on how the disease may have in Hamburg and the it has and issues which in this I how the Keiskamma Guernica was made as well as meanings and implications of its and of is a small town by the of the Keiskamma (Fig. there in 2000, Hofmeyr was by the of in the town and its villages and to art project which might local people all of whom to with making large-scale works which of the who with the project who a during in which they to in the making of such the has been set in such a way that it also members to art objects The in a to its (Fig. as well as various in South While embroidery is a the project has in such a way that it also involves work in other media, with and for example, with as well as objects in wire, and The has also to support in a The art project the of the Keiskamma a community set in which also has in and the Hofmeyr the of art with and to the would the project's first large-scale the Keiskamma which of and in and is on to in Cape reference to the which represented to the of in in the Keiskamma attention to the between forces and local people in South In the Keiskamma Altarpiece, which was made a the project iconic artwork from the West as a prototype this the Isenheim but this time to to a medical of to the of the of in South Africa by the in 2012, and in that of South which to the of the disease and its The National AIDS of South in a to the disease and its it was with a of other such as of and and the message of were not to those the of to the disease were in fact on the during in to in and as health The and health by who the between AIDS and the and by that AIDS was a in antiretroviral suggesting that the disease might be through and a in and African was only through the by the a in and other that government-sponsored antiretroviral rollout were late in in and health making available antiretroviral only of and of who were for medication were in fact it by the of 2010 while has not the AIDS during has nevertheless been especially in to addressing of between and in the of the Hofmeyr, while as a medical had not for to the Eastern had with embroidery on HIV/AIDS in this was as art rather than in a medical for of the and for engagement with how other embroidery in South Africa to focus on HIV/AIDS in the late in the of Hamburg and its where there were of as well as in which people were through of to medical it to focus only on art working in various in as well as with AIDS who had in Hamburg at the of to government-sponsored antiretroviral treatment reaching Hofmeyr to antiretroviral medication about eight people to treatment in the of The health of those people had by early the community with that it was in fact to a and while the first of while the Keiskamma Altarpiece was being government-sponsored antiretroviral treatment and Hofmeyr was also to a which enabled to be to of to well for the disease and the of the Hamburg would in fact In of the Keiskamma was to its of antiretroviral treatment and to the at the were to medication and, where from in from from in from the of and over from The which had as the would become the for the Keiskamma which its for example, and community health support to the and and and the community with Hofmeyr in work at local 2013, on the art to people who often funding to on the to have of Hamburg and villages of While the treatment not have medical at its and would have been for those to and it had in the of AIDS was of Eastern Cape a with the Keiskamma that often to people with the that at the had accorded no people to in no people to AIDS and had those of the and that there have been a of in which local people suffering from actually through and treatment they were the of had to that all the people of South Africa had to this the way were in and in the Eastern Hofmeyr in the of they As one example, the case of a from Hamburg suffering from and in a to while in medication was into rather than a as the case of a suffering from who was not on a also and with that people to health which to after the Keiskamma had the of antiretroviral In as in numerous other villages where people a of for is that people through were a for a but this would not be had In order to to this people in circumstances would be people were treatment from were in with the would and in on and health more be may be the and the have the treatment the would a would the of that would be for that particular also numerous with HIV/AIDS that not the of the of the and on and where they may than it has become for people in Hamburg and villages to treatment at a local rather than to in has While may to to become for the of artist and by the to support to in Hamburg and that medication I have to that the health is also more and more people just of and they just they I to to have that not only those the of for the after but also the to through being in in which they to on as well as and to become (Schmahmann it villages in the about of begun to that through this may have a the to such actually to and on of in that such may not only by the of on but that they also to as as become for it was Carol Hofmeyr who the of making a work referring to about HIV/AIDS on Picasso's Guernica, the of making the Keiskamma Guernica not project members a as project Hofmeyr different in the the subsequent of making the work for and from the various members of the this as drawing was members of the project with the implications of the subject at the that Port artist a on Picasso's that the was well and that it included and those working in other as well as those for also that focused on qualities of the how may have a mood of also how in the a of suffering and engagement with the of Picasso's work through a of drawing by and a from the United in late on a of who were to the the to with Picasso's various of rather than to the European they to focus on about and As not actually into the Keiskamma Guernica, (Fig. enabled project members to a of the subject the of the work in such a way that it was of the same and as the prototype. the making of also produced of the the of on the of the work (see Fig. 1), on a of at the of was in the of the Keiskamma with in the for the at the of the work while also the of which a to that the with on which is on the and a with in the of and on the the of a on the of the while the of the the of for the small the of the work which the the first and the of the of of as well as the and of people who of of about a to work on the Keiskamma Guernica as the work was into different a of working in the project's in the of for example, while other in Hamburg. were also made by the where produced in and by Hofmeyr as of and were on of the work. The and of the work was made by works, which were made from of the Keiskamma Guernica was to textiles and that were from the after it the work also in with the was from a that Hofmeyr and to the the Keiskamma and Keiskamma Altarpiece had a of in the of beadwork for those works, in this AIDS over from a were and on to the work and the Keiskamma Guernica is a work first as of the National Arts it was constituted as of which works in other made by the project and which also to with HIV/AIDS. immediately in of the work was a from of the for (Fig. which were a of made by the of the Keiskamma Art Project, in 2009 the of (Keiskamma Art Project made by and it also the of in which people who had members produced small in were with of from made at the by and was with the of a local who had of with the on the Keiskamma Guernica as well as of and and, in the of a the medical of the it of produced by the at were also on display (Fig. various from Picasso's Guernica, they were constituted from appliquéed on which was with in a Hofmeyr included with medical from the treatment which were in that had been produced in a by a to and of the town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil was the first of a of on a by a and Picasso's in speaks of suffering on people about on (see Fig. the a with a in in and while on the in the of a from a on the at the a to and to to the of the with a of a a as to to of the that the of a it to of the of a being on and a town through also the of the bombing of Guernica through to the and of the with simultaneously referring to the was common for to be for a and into the to be by (see Picasso's with a who in which a in is as for the of Guernica by the on the same the to a and in that the of the with on its The is on the the in to the of the bombing of been example, while that the for and on that the and the victims of a rather than for on the of the with and a may be the it is to the with the of a But, as the also might be as a of the with St. the who to a of to the by Keiskamma Art Project in the pamphlet produced to the exhibition of the work at the National Arts Picasso's the Keiskamma Guernica not of but rather a at the of a suggests that the of the experienced through the bombing of Guernica in fact be understood as to the impact of HIV/AIDS on the of HIV/AIDS as a to a to it and people from HIV/AIDS. it was to Picasso's Guernica which represented people in the Hofmeyr that it was of in Hamburg and its that made the prototype. As Guernica was the Keiskamma Guernica, Picasso's of the from a has been into a of Hofmeyr (Fig. in a and by and is a to of the circumstances in which this as the of the on it as was to is I it was for to Hofmeyr is also represented through the of the a in the of the work (Fig. might be understood to a of Hofmeyr being on at all of the and of the absence of other in the as with the of the with as being this also be understood as being imbued with the of the in Picasso's as same is in the Keiskamma Guernica in the of a the the a and a this the impact of HIV/AIDS on the the of the and as a of to the of the Hofmeyr by the and the is of a local on (Fig. and the to the this is a the of As it is primarily in Hamburg and its who were of and and in the of who were the the Keiskamma Altarpiece how the support and of of that Hamburg would survive the onslaught of the in the Keiskamma Guernica the message is of and of and on of the work which to in not to the but of altarpieces such as the Altarpiece by to which the Keiskamma Art Project had in fact in Creation Altarpiece in altarpieces included to in the of the and which, to the of relationship between the and its of The of to the with the of and as in the Altarpiece, the message that was a for and the with of hope for The of and with to the and in the Keiskamma Guernica that the work might be in to this as a way of suggesting that suffering in this be in on the of the Keiskamma Guernica (Fig. is the that the But, rather than to with the the might be in of the of within the of as well as works by the Keiskamma Art were of in the and that as was have been represented in works by the Keiskamma Art Project the first to also on the project's (see Fig. the may be a is in the of that is to people to support Project of whom in fact of in such a way that it with and for the of this is which, of all that during the to have been to project members during In a and a were on the of the two the and with a message that community and from in for a of the was to have the of same that Hamburg was about had been and at people had of the and to of to on in detailed of this were also into in to and from of had as a focus for the Keiskamma Art Project in first at the National Arts Festival in would in the Keiskamma (see for and on the of the Creation Altarpiece (Fig. work focused on the and its capacity to In works by the project such as would to be into a message of hope for the of the community in a with in rather than with for the Keiskamma Art Project a of and that the of the the in the Keiskamma Guernica would to be different to other The is and to the of a and Hofmeyr of disease and The would to be as with the during the early century is a with to through is in fact included in the Keiskamma Guernica (Fig. Picasso's The of the of the a and to the victims of the Guernica bombing who had no to that to from The in the Keiskamma Guernica, the of subject to and capacity to from being to its of the in the of a skin and the of is from a of message that had become in and of capacity within the Eastern Cape to was a on with of the health was and I was to the details of was and the was the at the of the work to the fact as the of was means the was and In the as in those of the is on the of the which is in the with the of a The of the is as that the might be which is of to and to to but is as the through which and by the it is a that the has been that Picasso's with its particular focus on the of was especially for may be as of for and the might be in to the at the of who immediately on the may be which is a few after the and which about a after the the may to of But, as the might also to the of in the of from people to to to is to and were that to a in order for people to that is that in the a on this than suggesting that the of a to the a for HIV/AIDS, that it the of a community to in a where medical had of have to our to people who and to treatment from the the to that not about the to such was the work was at the National Arts Festival through in the a of a where such a is its at the of the that was in the Keiskamma Art Project's through the of to a while also in fact to the and the to in the work. it not only in the by but also the represented by in the version of the Isenheim The fact that the Keiskamma Guernica to the while also referring to with with the of people in Hamburg and its surrounds. in and small in the Eastern in South Africa and on the as but not this as in (Schmahmann As the of for a by to and while of after to they often also and a system that and in this The for in who have a more than in religious they held about and the but about the of the for the of the two religious but rather The of with after while the of with and is in the Keiskamma Guernica where would to on the of people to in while also to the impact of that in the of which, as I have might be in of the of the and been in the Keiskamma than the of a particular of was the case in the Keiskamma Altarpiece where the included of was project to the small in a of the of the of which is with the of who from (Fig. Hofmeyr how had in the the that on to The for the work was of the in the town of in the Eastern Cape where that were than a the and there was this of While may have a of that in the was in of one might from were just of for the Keiskamma Guernica, the on one this they particular in while at the same time the of a community by of the work was with in of The small in the that had been made to who of simultaneously of in the this message was through the in the exhibition of the the of victims who from of of in Hamburg had and into the Keiskamma Guernica as of suffering within the I have about how the Keiskamma Altarpiece its Fig. 3) a of on a through its treatment of the of the work in such a way that it to a the Keiskamma Guernica, a to the of the Hofmeyr and the which while also a and to the with in of a treatment and, by of and that has they also the of at the of the work and with In to the Keiskamma Altarpiece, which the as a of and for the in the Keiskamma Guernica it is with its within with the and with a of in the work also one they to in the Eastern As and David have observed, was to made of which were the of various the of often in the of from European the The were also with on textiles and and in the of the work to the of a community that is and they may the of medical in the absence of a health of to the (Fig. may also be Hofmeyr that had been reading about the of the in Picasso's and that was drawing for a time but they were that as with the and included in the the which the to shape the of and through the of the and from a of rather than it is a that of capacity to its the the a of this one which is of a and As with other in the work as a it would to about a community a which people and capacity to HIV/AIDS in the of hope and optimism that the Keiskamma the Keiskamma Guernica the devastating impact of it has also become by on the of people in circumstances a for to the time of its to Port Elizabeth from its exhibition at the South African National Gallery in Cape Town midway through 2013, it was that the Keiskamma Guernica was in of was not immediately at the Red Location Museum and its in a But, on 2013, and had been to its the was which from the local who the that had been on the they were to in this was a the Red Location Museum to the midway through this article to In it to the work in order to time to to people were the Hofmeyr observed in Keiskamma Altarpiece was by of the of 2012, but its had not been a was held to it to Hamburg while such were by who made the work as well as people who were represented in it in a with a to it those in the community who had not been to to its at the National Arts Festival in 2005 with first to this travelled work in its while the of the work was the was also with in one the Keiskamma Altarpiece in Hamburg a after work on it had first not but the of the Keiskamma Guernica had and that the impact of HIV/AIDS on the local community would a of and than had to be the case in early

Altarpiece · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Chapel · Painting · PICASSO · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Veneration · Visual arts · History · HIV/AIDS Impact and Responses · Public Spaces through Art · South African History and Culture

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