Cascoland Journal

Wednesday 1 March

Behind every foreign artist working on the Cascoland project in New Crossroads there is a guide, artist or, troubleshooter helping out. Without them the work of the Cascoland artists would not be possible. This week local artist Shakes Tembani tells us about his life in New Crossroads and why art is the essence of his life.

Shakes Tembani has been living in New Crossroads all his life. He still remembers vaguely living in Old Crossroads. Compared to New Crossroads the environment in Old Crossroads was not very clean. There was no electricity and water had to be fetched with buckets. In 1982 his family, just like many other families, were forced to leave their homes in Old Crossroads and move to New Crossroads under pressure from the Apartheid regime.

Tembani was too young to understand the political reasons behind their move and the consequent unhappiness felt by certain sections of the community. For him New Crossroads, at first, looked like a big improvement. He says: ¥I was happy to finally live in a proper house. Life was much better in our new home. The streets were very clean, there was electricity and, running water.¥ But soon he also realized that certain promises about communal services like clinics and a swimming pool would never materialize.

The Apartheid years were emotionally very disruptive for this community as they searched for a new identity and sense of place in New Crossroads. He says: ¥From the start this neighborhood was disturbed by gangsters. Sometimes we couldn¥t go to school because of their actions. What worries me now is that the gangsters of today are getting younger and younger. Out of fear many people don¥t dare to speak out.¥

Besides that Apartheid was the main reason why the community got divided: ¥I still remember vividly the men in blue uniforms, the so-called "kitskonstabels", who came from our communities but were working for the white Apartheid regime. We always tried to chase them away from our neighborhood.¥

At age 11 he participated for the first time in a toyi-toyi march demanding for the release of Nelson Mandela. It was exciting at first but when the police arrived it became a very scary experience: ¥The police came, warned us to go home and then started shooting rubber bullets. We were chased back to our houses and some of us were arrested in our houses after being betrayed by informers.¥

In the 1990¥s when Mandela got released and Apartheid began to be abolished, Shakes was just finishing high school: ¥From when I was young I had the love for art. It was my passion. One day I got the chance to go studying visual arts in Woodstock for three years. My parents encouraged me to become an artist. They told me I should follow my heart.¥

As is often the case, it is not easy to earn a living with art. But Shakes is confident: ¥I believe that there are many opportunities for artists in South Africa, but you have to be patient. You have to work hard to get the right exposure.¥

According to Shakes, Cascoland is such an opportunity. He says: ¥Already before I was part of an abstract painting project that a German artist conducted with 12 South African artists.¥ His experience with Cascoland has been good thus far. ¥I have so far learned a lot. It is very interesting to see how foreign artists use recycled materials or to show us specialized skills. I have been helping Indre Klimaite with her signs for shops in New Crossroads. It was very interesting seeing her at work and learning from her.¥

Some people however were a bit skeptical when Shakes told them about the work he does. He says: ¥In the townships many people usually look down on people who work with garbage. But hearing my stories some of my friends also developed a keen interest in the techniques used by the Cascoland people. The only problem is that we don¥t have the right tools.¥

Shakes has already built up a reputation as an artist. In 2004 he was commissioned by the Robben Island Multipeople¥s Learning Centre to design frames for mirrors. They are still on display in the centre. He has also done mosaics and exhibited for the Alliance FranÁaise, Communtiy Art Project, Ruth Prowse College of Art & Design and Artscape. At the moment he concentrates on small, multicolored, portraits.