Artist’s statement -
‘I arrived in South Africa to meet journalist Vernon Wright, from the New Zealand Listener magazine on July 21, 1985, the day the emergency in South Africa was declared.
The work presented in this exhibition is the result of five weeks’ exhaustive effort from that ominous and historic day documenting what we observed. We spent time in Johannesburg, Soweto, a single men’s hostel, two funerals, drive 400 km and interviewed people such as Tutu, Paton, Stofile, Winnie Mandela and others.
The current situation in South Africa, the diverse attitudes and feelings amongst New Zealanders, the contemporary and historical links our country has with South Africa and the nature and quality of the work, make this exhibition significant, timely and likely to be well patronised.’
Ephemera
→ Bruce Connew: South Africa, 1987, poster