A view of Cape Town from a window - SOLD
Richard Mudariki (b 1985)
A view of Cape Town from a window - 2016
Acrylic on canvas
140 x 160 cm
Signed and dated bottom right
Sold - 2016
This painting comments on the numerous street protests that
took place in Cape Town in which citizens showed their deep
disappointment and concern over various civic issues involving
the president, university fees and statues of colonial masters. The
window frames a view of this reality in present day South Africa.
Through it, we can see that the people are angry, they feel as if
they have been sold a false dream in 1994. For many it seems
that the state of class oppression has not changed and that the
dream of a new Rainbow Nation has failed. The protestors feel
that certain individuals and institutions ‘must fall’ in order for the
country to progress – Zuma Must Fall, Rhodes Must Fall, Fees Must
Fall. These protests are symptoms of a search for meaning and a
call for recognition by the voiceless masses who are expected to
support the democratic state. A man, falling from above, holds a
revolutionary banner with the colours of the national ruling party,
somehow signalling that some in the party are falling from their
high positions.