In these times when more walls are being erected than torn down in the world, Michal Kruger (1994) is exploring the (false) sense of security and nostalgia associated with stone barricades. As a white South African, he is specifically interested in the so-called ‘laer’, or wagon fortress. In the past, whenever a caravan of white Afrikaners and their ox-wagons was suddenly attacked, the wagons would be hastily arranged in a circular shape to form a temporary fortification. At the farm of Kruger’s grandfather, a red brick wall serves as a remnant of this phenomenon. Brick walls like these visually reference the shape and history of the wagon fortresses that used to be made. Kruger’s family mainly used this stone representation as a place to come together and cook.
While Kruger feels a certain sense of nostalgia for this brick structure as it is part of his family history, he is also acutely aware of its sinister undertones. At first glance, the work Sunset Wall (2022) therefore appears to be a beacon of warmth. Kruger: “The sun always created beautiful reflections on that wall at my grandfather’s.” But those who look carefully will notice that the artist is critical of his own feelings of pride and nostalgia. The contexts of colonial history and apartheid creep up on you in the work’s details.
The home environments of white Afrikaners are sometimes still regarded as a metaphorical wagon fortress. Kruger: “Old walls like these have now taken on new shapes. Today, many white South Africans live in closed communities with tall fences to isolate themselves.” The tension between the work’s almost naïve cheerfulness sharply contrasts with its context. Kruger thus uses paths of nostalgia, warm colours, and awkwardness to express nuanced (self-)criticism.
Text: Milo Vermeire
Translation from Dutch to English: Marie Louise Schoondergang