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Animals in African Folklore
An exploraiton of Alice's work and how it relates to an animals native culture, 1 May - 30 June 2022

Animals in African Folklore: An exploraiton of Alice's work and how it relates to an animals native culture

Past viewing_room
  • Alice Zilberberg, Laid-Back Lemur, 2020
    Artworks

    On Why the Lemur Calls

    featuring Laidback Lemur

    "One of the most popular Malagasy stories tells of the creation of the Indri. A long time ago, two brothers lived together in the forest. But one day, one of the brothers grew tired of the forest and decided to leave and cultivate the land. That brother became the first human, and the brother who stayed in the forest became the first indri. The Indri’s distinctive call is it crying in mourning for his brother who went astray.

     

    The story can serve as a warning about the potential dangers of cultivating the land, and the benefits to preserving the forest. Many still believe the indri to be sacred and not to be hunted. They believe if a hunter were foolhardy enough to throw a spear at it, the Indri would grasp the spear and hurl it back at the hunter. "

     

    - The Lemur Conservation Network

  • Why the Ostrich has Such a Long Neck, featuring Onward Ostrich
    Alice Zilberberg
    Onward Ostrich, 2020
    Canson Infinity Rag Photographique
    152.4 x 127.0 cm

    Why the Ostrich has Such a Long Neck

    featuring Onward Ostrich

    "Mr. Ostrich was a sober minded, serious husband, who was always willing to assist his wife in her family duties. "My Dear", he said to her one evening, when their large clutch of eggs seemed almost ready to hatch, "my black feathers can not be seen in the darkness, so I will guard our eggs by night, and at the same time keep them warm for you. That will leave you free to relax and enjoy yourself until daybreak each morning."

     

    He settled down clumsily to his unaccustomed task, while his flighty wife was more than thankful to be relieved of a duty which she already found a trial. She fluffed up her feathers and, to show how pleased she was, she set off in a joyful high-stepping dance among the low termite-mounds that surrounded their nest. The big birds had chosen the site with care, for they knew that a sitting ostrich hen, with her head down, looks from the distance like a grey mound of earth.

     

    They had decided to rear their young on the short-grassed plainlands because they could see all round them, for in those days the ostrich had a short neck like a guinea-fowl and partridge. They had learned the hard lesson that in long grass their enemies could attack them before they realised their danger.

     

    To keep their precious eggs safe from the dreaded fires that swept across the plains, the two birds had carefully scratched away a broad band of dusty earth in the grass round the slight hollow that was their nest.  On the whole they were a happy pair-although from time to time the husband had disapproved of his wife's high-spirited ways.  At this particular time, she should behave more sensibly as she had her eggs to look after. 

     

    He wriggled his massive thighs on the ground as he had seen his wife do, to shift the position of the eggs so that they lay more comfortably in their bed, and settled down to his long night's wait. It was full moon.The silvery light shed strange shadows and threw up ghostly figures among the surrounding mounds of earth. His head was beginning to nod with weariness, when he became aware of his wife's hissing laugh. He was wide awake in a moment.

     

    Straining his short neck to its utmost limit, he saw her dodging in and out between the termite-mounds in a wild game of hide-and-seek with a handsome young ostrich in hot pursuit. This would never do. He half rose from the nest - but sank down again with a sigh. He dare not leave the precious eggs, whatever the reason. What if they were to grow cold while he went to tell his flirting wife what he thought of her disgraceful behaviour?

     

    He settled down again with a feeling of annoyance, but strained his neck further and further, to try to catch sight of her as she dodged and raced between the termite-mounds on the moonlit veld. From time to time he did catch a glimpse of her, and heard her foolish giggles - and each time that he did so, he strained and stretched his neck trying to see further and yet further between the nearby termite-mounds. At last, the long, tedious night came to an end.

     

    As it did so, his wife appeared out of the distance to take over her duties once more. The ostrich rose stiffly, prepared to punish his wife for her undignified behaviours; but as he did so, he felt a strangeness in the muscles of his neck. He looked down at his feet, and was alarmed to discover how very faraway from his head they were - and realised with a shock that, as a result of all the straining that he had done during the long night, his neck had stretched, and stretched, and stretched.

     

    He tried to shake it back to its former length, but no matter what he did, it stayed just the same: he had stretched beyond return. And that is why the ostrich has a long neck- a lasting memory of a flighty wife." - From the Victoria Falls Guide

  • Alice Zilberberg, Go Giraffe , 2019
    Artworks

    The Giraffe and the Tortoise

    featuring Go Giraffe

    "Giraffe and Tortoise, they say, met one day. Giraffe said to Tortoise, "At once I could trample you to death." Tortoise, being afraid, remained silent. Then Giraffe said, "At once I could swallow you." Tortoise said, in answer to this, " Well, I just belong to the family of those whom it has always been customary to swallow." Then Giraffe swallowed Tortoise; but when the latter was being gulped down, he stuck in Giraffe's throat, and as the latter could not get it down, he was choked to death.

     

    When Giraffe was dead, Tortoise crawled out and went to Crab (who is considered as the mother of Tortoise), and told her what had happened. Then Crab said:

     

    "The little Crab! I could sprinkle it under its arm with Boochoo,

    The crooked-legged little one, I could sprinkle under its arm."

    Tortoise answered its mother and said:

    Have you not always sprinkled me,

    That you want to sprinkle me now?

    Then they went and fed for a whole year on the remains of Giraffe."

     

    -From South African Folk Tales

  • Alice Zilberberg, Zen Zebra , 2019
    Artworks

    Zebra vs Baboon, or How the Zebra Has its Stripes

    featuring Zen Zebra

    "Long ago, animals were new in Africa. The weather was dry and hot and water was scarce. The little water remained was in a few watering holes. One such small hole during those times of drought was guarded by a boisterous and arrogant baboon. It forbade any of the animals from drinking at his pool because he self-appointed himself as lord of the water. At night, the baboon struck a fireplace for warmth by the waterhole and chased off others. African legend has it that one evening, a zebra and his son came to have a drink of water after a journey. The baboon was sitting next to the waterhole by his fire. In those days, zebras didn’t have their stripes. They wore coats of white fur. On seeing the zebras, the baboon barked, “Go away, this is my pool and the water is mine.” The thirsty zebras looked up, and saw the angry baboon. The son shouted back. The infuriated baboon challenged them in a fine fury, “Then you must fight for the water, if you want to drink” and attacked the young zebra. In a moment, a struggle ensued. They were locked in combat. The two fought savagely that seemed like eternity. Tempers flare. Back and forth they went fighting until at last, the zebra kicked the baboon powerfully. The baboon landed amongst the rocks of the cliff behind the waterhole.

     

    The baboon landed smack on his seat with a mighty thud, taking its bottom hair clean off. To this day, the baboon has had a bare patch on his bottom where he landed. The baboon still continues to live high up among the rocks nursing his bald patch on his backside where he landed. They spend their days challenging intruders and barking defiance at all strangers. And when they walk around, they still hold their tails aloft because of the pain of the bare patch on their bottoms where they landed. The terrified zebra was all tired and bruised after kicking the baboon so hard. Not looking where he was going, the zebra tripped on the fireplace that sent burning ambers flying in the air. Some fell on the zebra’s white coat. And that is how the zebras got its stripes. The injuries and shock sent the zebra galloping and dashing away back to the savannah where it has lived ever since. He did come to like his stripes as they gave him a distinguished look. "

     

    - From Bushwise

  • Alice Zilberberg, Restful Rhino, 2019
    Artworks

    Why the Rhino Flings his Dung

    featuring Restful Rhino

    "When the world was new and the animals were still settling into their homes, Rhino and Elephant had a disagreement which, in time, turned into a clash. Both animals were strapped and outfitted with dangerous weapons to fight and defend themselves with. Rhino being short-sighted fought wildly but still managed to inflict a couple of nasty stab wounds on poor Elephant. Elephant, being much wiser, used his tusks to defend himself. Rhino soon had numerous great gashes in hid hide and realized he had to admit defeat. Poor Old Rhino! He stumbled away, wondering who he could ask to help him mend his wounds. After a while he found Mrs. Porcupine, who, being a compassionate soul, lent him one of her sharpest quills to use as a needle. But she made Rhino promise to return her quill, as it is her only defense against bigger animals. Rhino agreed and was soon putting big clumsy stitches into this thick skin. At last it was done and being very tired from the fight and his mending efforts, he flopped down and fell asleep. The quill was carefully placed beside him…Regretfully, Rhino forgot about his promise when he woke and only remembered his undertaking when he bumped into Mrs. Porcupine a few days later. Mystified, he could not remember what he had done with the useful quill. He finally concluded that he must have accidentally swallowed it! Now even Rhino realized that if he had swallowed it, it would be dealt with in the same way that his tummy dealt with everything else he swallowed! So – to this day – Rhino always piles his dung up on one particular place and then proceeds to kick it about, still hoping that the valuable quill will come to light!"

     

    - From the Kapama Private Game Reserve

  • One of the foundational elements of humanity is its curiosity about the world around it and its need to assign logic to natural phenomenon. The logic a society ascribes to the things it witnesses can take many different shapes; in some cases, we call it “science”, in others “religion” and in others we call it “folklore”. But how different are any of these phenomena really? If a group of people accepts any given analysis as fact, and finds proof to justify such analysis in the real world, can any of us really say with complete certainty that such an analysis is incorrect? Within the context of the multitude of cultures that span Africa, the second largest continent in the world, there exists a motif of a strong oral history
    and a highly developed folkloric culture accompanying it. These folklores, normally, not only demonstrate what are important values amongst those who communicate these stories, but also that which can be considered quotidian, commonplace, and easily recognizable amongst its listeners. 

     

    So powerful were many of these stories, that they have withstood the attacks of time passed, cultural paternalism from European colonizers,and even the ravages of transatlantic slavery in the Americas. Folklore not only imparts wisdom and informs on values, it also communicates identity. At their most serious, these stories can be foreboding and tragic; at their most whimsical, full of jest and character.

     

    Alice Zilberberg’s Meditations series focuses on the animal as an integral member in the natural world. Through her practice, she creates portraits that alienate each animal from their natural habitat by removing them from their environmental context and dropping them in a new topography of Zilberberg's own invention. However, what is not lost to the viewer is the human context that is built around these animals, insomuch that these animals are not only players in the immensely complex and intricate natural world, but they are also oftentimes are the heroes of their native cultures’ storytelling. The animal itself can never be fully removed from its home, because its very existence is a product of such origins and their legacy of human interaction grounds them in their respective cultures. From such a concept, so many other complex modern day polemics rise to the surface: the repatriation of cultural artifacts, looted and archived in European museums, the dichotomous nature of conservational institutions, who maintain a species alive while also removing them from their biological homes, the list goes on. 

     

    Five of Zilberberg’s subjects in the Meditations series are native to Africa: the rhinoceros, the ostrich, the zebra, the lemur, and the giraffe. Each apports with it a wealth of cultural intimacy coming from the different cultures who have lived with them for hundreds of years. In South Africa, the Zulu and Xhosa tell a story of a forgetful and clumsy rhino, who thinks he must fling his dung in order to find the porcupine's quill, which he accidentally swallowed after promising to return it. The Bantu-speaking ethnic groups that live along the Zambezi say that the ostrich’s long neck comes from his need to supervise his flirtatious wife. The Khoisan of South Africa, Botswana and Namibia tells a cautionary tale against boastfulness via the giraffe, who bullies a tortoise for being so small (for those wondering, the giraffe tries to eat the tortoise and chokes to death). 

     

    Beyond being a reminder of these animals’ alienation from their natural habitat, Meditations can also be understood as a reminder that they are also being taken from their cultural habitat, from a culture and a people who used these animals to make sense of their lives and their progeny. While the modern world may push onto us the belief that the natural world and human society are separate entities, they are in fact intrinsically related to one another. These didactic tales with the following animals remind us of this universal truth. 

  • FOR MORE INFORMATION

    For questions or concers, please email hello@thecampgallery.com.

     

    Curation and statement by Mario Andres Rodriguez

    • Alice Zilberberg, Restful Rhino, 2019
      Alice Zilberberg, Restful Rhino, 2019
    • Alice Zilberberg, Laid-Back Lemur, 2020
      Alice Zilberberg, Laid-Back Lemur, 2020
    • Alice Zilberberg, Onward Ostrich, 2020
      Alice Zilberberg, Onward Ostrich, 2020
    • Alice Zilberberg, Go Giraffe , 2019
      Alice Zilberberg, Go Giraffe , 2019
    • Alice Zilberberg, Zen Zebra , 2019
      Alice Zilberberg, Zen Zebra , 2019
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