Pit ponies is a term for the horses, ponies or mules that were historically used in mining. Although born above ground, these animals would disappear underground as soon as they were deemed strong enough, often never to see daylight again. These oppressed workers were used to transport heavy equipment and raw materials through the mine galleries. “Quite a brutal situation”, remarks the artist Negiste Yesside Johnson (1988).
Johnson was born in Nigeria, but lived in South Africa as an undocumented person for most of her life, something that is inextricably linked to her practice. She is currently exploring the history and present of Nigeria. At Prospects, Johnson is showing two works on paper and two sculptures that are all part of an ongoing project featuring pit ponies. For these works she substituted the horses on Nigeria’s coat of arms for these unfortunate beasts of burden, thus making a symbolic connection between European mining and industrialization on the one hand, and Nigerian history on the other. In doing so, the artist does not only undermine existing power relations between countries and communities, but also deals with the aftermath of traumatic experiences that originate from industrialization and imperialism.
Those who look carefully will also pick up on a certain degree of magical realism in Johnson’s work: emptiness is looming like a dark cloud. “It all reverts back to this ‘nothingness’,” Johnson explains. Much like the pit ponies’ suffering, this ‘nothingness’ is a visual reference to the mental implications of post-traumatic symptoms.
Text: Milo Vermeire
Translation from Dutch to English: Marie Louise Schoondergang