Michael Stevenson

2006
rubber inner tube, ribbon, fabric, rocks
195 x 270 x 265cm (variable)

This work is inspired, firstly, by the phrase that young boys would use, especially in the Eastern Cape, to refer to an erection – umis’ iintente, ‘he’s got his tents up’. But it’s also looking at colonial history and the Anglo-Zulu battles, especially at Isandlwana. The British soldiers were defeated in that battle: they had two camps, and when they were attacked at one of the camps, the commander made the mistake of not ordering his soldiers to lower the tents to signal to the other camp that they were in trouble. At the lookout they thought everything was fine because the tents were up.

It has a red head which refers to the soldiers’ uniforms. Imagine walking in Zululand in a red uniform – you can be seen from far away. Of course it also relates to the head of the penis. If you can get your penis up, then everything is OK, but when it’s down, you need help.

I initially planned to make a cone-like structure, but it ended up becoming a pole. This was because of the material. The rubber tubing is very difficult to work with when you’re trying to get a specific shape. I wanted to use rectangular pieces because of the Xhosa dress-making tradition where they use patchwork. They call that technique ukuxola. Ukuxola also means being at peace, uxolile. It is as though one is at peace with all the scars that are dressed with patches – think of reconciliation in this country. The bottom of the work could be an ordinary Xhosa skirt, which is then elongated to give it the phallic shape.

Now I’ve added ropes, and stones at the end of the ropes to give it weight. If you walk in the homesteads, in people’s yards, you’ll see they use wire to keep the fences in place, with a big rock as an anchor. The ropes are there to control the pressure or life that exists under the cover. It’s like a rocket. If you removed the ropes it might lift off.