:: Melkhoutfontein, Stilbaai, Western Cape, South Africa::
:: February & March 2016 - March & April 2017 - February & March 2018 ::
:: 2015 - 45cm x 35cm - Acrylics, Inks & Markers on Canvas Board ::
The culture of the Strandloper Khoi is part of the cultural memory of Melkhoutfontein, although not many remember it. This ingenious beach-combing and fish-trapping culture emerged out of the interactions of the Khoekhoen people with the modern world and represents the latest stage of Melkhoutfontein's prehistory before the ancestors of today's community settled permanently in the Stillbay region. Here we see the Strandlopers celebrated with a selection of scenes from their lives, portrayed under an early-morning sky which symbolises a fresh vitality. Figures by the shoreline gather up seafood while fishers employ nets at the fish traps, and in the background, people gather around the firesides to talk, hold rituals and to dance. The cave at Blombos was also occupied in recent years as well as ancient times, and its presence is seen to the left. See the completed mural at Miena's house here.
