The ICP Exhibit

On October 4, we went to an exhibit about apartheid in South Africa.

The photo that caught my attention was Pauline Moloise, two women and Winnie Madikizela Mandela mourn at the memorial service for Benjamin Moloise , who was hanged earlier that morning, Khotoso house, Johannesburg, 1985 by Gille de Vlieg.

6 men and 4 women showed up to Benjamin Moloise’s service. The men are all in collared shirts, appropriately formal, while the women’s dress varies greatly, from the old lady in the blanket to the woman in a formal blouse and cardigan.

The younger men have their fists in the air and look defiant, while the older men seem more defeated and tired. It seems that Moloise died a political death, because other pictures had the raised fist symbol as well, and the young men are still fired up about the cause. It reminded me of the book “Loose Change,” when 2 of the characters get older and disillusioned with the revolution.

Another element of the photo that interested me was the old woman being in a blanket while the other people are in Western clothes. Is the younger generation more Westernized, or am I over-thinking it and she’s just like those little old ladies on Ocean Parkway who are always in at least 3 layers even in July?

Moloise was an important figure. According to my research, Moloise was a poet who was killed for conspiring to kill a police officer in the effort to protest apartheid. One of Moloise’s poems became a common chant at protests. The US even urged the South African government to “take another look” at their plan to execute Moloise. The execution only served to escalate resistance to apartheid.

That is the story behind this photograph.