Not All is Black and White: Wisdom from the African Zebra
Beth Armstrong was one of 33 artists recently approached by the World for All Foundation to design and integrate an artwork on a life-sized Zebra sculpture. The zebras were displayed in public locations around Cape Town for the duration of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The aim is to highlight South Africa’s contribution to a world beset by challenges . An appropriate visual metaphor of such wisdom should be the African Zebra, carrying a message in both word and artistic form, and placed at key locations where tourists and locals will gather during this period.
The Zebras are meant to carry the core messages of Africa’s Renaissance, of South Africa’s peaceful transition from Apartheid to Democracy, and the World for All Foundation’s vision of a shared society, where different people co-exist respectfully, where complexity is embraced and extremism is shunned. The Zebras will be a unique and meaningful addition to FIFA’s 2010 Soccer World Cup.
Participating artists were provided with “blank canvas” of the plain white zebra, and asked to choose a quote by Nelson Mandela to indicate what concepts they have explored in their work on the zebra.
Armstrong’s choice was: “All of us, descendants of Africa, know only too well that racism demeans the victims and dehumanizes its perpetrators.”
