Unlikely Allies I

The work forms part of the series Vestige (2014), the word represents a trace or remnant of something that is disappearing or no longer exists. The series is varied in subject matter, and this work is one of a two-part collective of works that deal with the notion of perpetrator and victim within the South African context. According to the artist, "Broken down, mapped and compartmentalized: the skin is a surface for branding by economic, political and historical processes that do not sit together as neatly as our inkling for linear narratives would like them to. Despite their human forms and mannerisms, the half-animal figures and the domesticated cat, are not connected to us. By denying the viewers’ gaze, they deny any dialogue. In the same breath they refuse to confirm the stories we create for them, in order to explain their function and form. Unlikely Allies I & II consist of life size shaped plate etchings, each printed in 2 runs with multiple colours. The power-play between the characters comes into question; lines between perpetrator and victim become blurred. The works reference issues around poaching and endangerment in South Africa, and also deal with more current concerns of xenophobic violence and discrimination." (De Wet, 2019).