Exploring Ephemeral Memorial Landscapes in Sharpeville

Edwin Pitja

MArch 2022

Supervisors:
Unit Leader: Dr. Finzi Saidi
Unit Leader: Mathebe Aphane
Unit Tutor: Bonolo Masango
Unit Tutor: Nomalanga Mahlangu

UNIT 15X
Landscapes of Memory

Awards
Examiner’s Choice: Dr Jennifer Beningfield
Examiner’s Choice: Sushma Patel
Distinction

I am investigating Sharpeville’s commemorative rituals performed in remembrance of the Sharpeville massacre, exposing the political agendas behind the current memorials. I am taking rituals performed by the community as informative of a new memorial landscape that is inclusive and can aid the process of healing and moving on in ways the community relates to. The community started taking ownership of their history through storytelling, setting mbaolas on the side of the streets and elders told stories to the young. Currently the ritual takes place at the memorial precinct. I am taking storytelling as the base for formulating designs together with other rituals like go phasa to mark the communities’ significant sites to their history. The new memorial landscape acts as a framework, an aleatory that allows the participation of the community to form the memorials. As part of the memorial creation, I am using mbaola storytelling as a catharsis to aid the process of healing and moving on and a catalyst to bringing the community together.

Keywords:
Ephemeral