STEPHAN ERASMUS
Hartland
06 - 26 September 2011
Hartland heart•land (noun)
1. The part of a region considered essential to the viability and survival of the whole, esp. a central land area relatively invulnerable to attack and capable of economic and political self-sufficiency.
Sisters of Mercy “Heartland”
Clearly now the past mistakes
The giant steps we had to take
The path that ever promise made to
Die in dream dissolve and fade
My heartland heartland heartland
The ownership of, or the belonging to land plays an important role in the creation of identity, and development of power relations within a society. Nowhere is this more evident than in South Africa’s history. Hartland documents a type of exploration into Afrikaner identity through the ‘sampling’ of selected Afrikaans text that is then reconstructed into a landscape or map. These delineated forms double up as impenetrable love letters. Text becomes a maze of meaning, used to construct and deconstruct identity and its relationship to belonging.
Stephan Erasmus is a Johannesburg based artist, curator and lecturer. His work is held in various collections: The Bibliotheca Alexandrina Alexandria, Egypt, Johannesburg Art Gallery and ABSA collection, to name but a few. He has participated in countless group and solo exhibitions across the country. First exhibited at the Absa Gallery in Johannesburg, this is a unique opportunity to view Hartland on Cape Town soil.