:: Melkhoutfontein, Stilbaai, Western Cape, South Africa::
:: February & March 2016 - March & April 2017 - February & March 2018 ::
:: 2017 - 5m x 6.8m (approx) - Emulsion on Side Elevation ::
:: Willem & Family's House, Melkhoutfontein, Western Cape, South Africa ::
:: Deep gratitude to fellow mural realisers Jason 'Kopa' Joyo & Chris Rimell ::
As one of the first designs I came up with back in 2015, it was so satisfying to finally realise the mural in Melkhoutfontein. Willem's house is situated in the heart of the community and facing several of the murals I painted in 2016, including the first two Swift People murals and the Strandlopers. Willem's House had already been painted with several shading background colours, and this directed the transformation of the design into the mural, in particular where the engraved design from the Blombos Red Ochre artefact would be situated. Here, then, we see a group of mostly female dancers with their children, painted with red ochre and attired with streamers, celebrating the beginning of human culture which took place 80,000 years in the Sillbay region. The history of the people of Melkhoutfontein and their ancestors is thus one of the deepest in the world, returning to the very beginnings of our humanity.
