CURATORIAL STATEMENT

The SAYING NO! project will articulate, curate and interrogate white apartheid-era militarisms in a contested present by creative means, drawing on various disciplines; including art, literature, music and photography from the past and present, by means of a unique exhibition. This will allow for an unprecedented public and academic record of an oft-hidden archive, with the intention of encouraging open conversations relating to the histories of militarised white South Africans.

Exploring issues of masculinity, whiteness and militarised pasts, specifically the conscription of white males in apartheid South Africa, via creative avenues, such as art and literary means, proposes new vantage points within the framework of visual studies and literature and acts as an alternative articulation in terms of knowledge production. Dally et al (2004) cite Marshall and Newton (2000: 2), who suggest that “parameters of research” should be expanded “to embrace other forms of understanding and engagement”, including “scholarship” that embraces “academic research beyond common scientific enquiry”. In this sense, SAYING NO! will strive to serve as a provocative and creative exploration that journeys beyond “rational-logical, empiricist models of research that are defined as legitimate” (2).

The project will be a collaborative exercise between archivist and photographer, Paul Weinberg, and poet, designer and post-doctoral researcher, Stephen Symons. This culmination of creative replies to the militarised pasts of white South Africans will rely on a body of curated work, including personal artworks and the photographic archive of Paul Weinberg and Stephen Symons; as well as other writers, poets, artists, photographers, graphic designers, playwrights and musicians. It hopes to serve as a document that encourages a broader understanding of what resistance to apartheid means and a broader sense of South Africaness.

Additionally, the SAYING NO! project, will continue to “live” and “resonate” within the digital domain by means of a website and e-catalogue. The virtual environment of the website will act as a forum for continued reflection, restoration and meditation, encouraging the exploration of inter-disciplinary methodologies aimed at traversing and mapping other silenced narratives of South Africans. It is hoped that the project will contribute to further alternative methods of scholarly research that ultimately humanises the past and contributes to peaceful and productive co-existence and acknowledgement. To conclude, the project intends to draw attention to the importance of multi-methodological research within the academy and emphasise the importance of the creative arts as a legitimate means of research.

As author and academic Svetlana Boym (2007: 18) rightly notes, “Home, after all, is not a gated community”.

Stephen Symons & Paul Weinberg
Cape Town, September 2019