Pebofatso Mokoena

Kea hoNkgono leNtatemoholo (I'm Taking a Walk to the Grandparents)

At the edge of South Africa’s first democratic elections, and during the height of ethno-tribal, socio-political and geo-transportational violence in Thokoza 1993, Pebofatso Mokoena’s childhood was occupied by things more quotidian - a fictional wrestler who would take on and beat WWF Champion Eddie Guererro; riding a bicycle on the street, and watching Formula 1. For Pebofatso, the chasm between these two experiences provided crucial lenses for understanding notions of peace and unrest.

To this end, the selection of paper-based works is an ongoing project that attempts to reorganize and understand the situational landscape of Kathorus during the 1993 civil unrest that Mokoena lived through. The works function as a historical time-machine, providing a lens to understand Thokoza as a nexus of political, socio-ethnic and psycho-social upheaval.

By rewriting archival documents, using drawing and textual collage, the project engages in the radical tradition of historiography as a tool to critically enquire about the complex nature of violence and its relation to the process of reconciliation – and for Pebofatso, a process that reconciles the situation indexed on the streets to the home of his own personal experience.