Revisiting public memory of the sinking of the SS. Mendi
“In Boardgame, for instance, you stage the politics
behind the recruitment of black South African men for
a European war. The stop-frame animation stresses its
complexity and entanglements, we see the ambitions
of the recruits, but also the intentions of the different
recruiting parties. Underlaying this whole recruitment
process there are several black resistance strategies
against the white oppressors, but also measures taken
by these white oppressors to secure their future power.
Recruiting for a war in Europe was a power game in the
context of black resistance and white oppression. According
to Solomon Plaatje, for instance, the war presented
an opportunity for young black men to see a different
part of the world and educate themselves; an escape
strategy from the oppressive context of the mines.”
Petra Van Brabandt. Letter to Wendy. 2017. Wendy Morris. This, of course, is a work of the Imagination. p34.