Exquisite Slave : Popsy : Popsie

Exquisite Slave, Popsy, Popsie. (front above and back below) Earthenware fired, slip cast Ceramic sculpture with ceramic decals and gold lustre.


We are all criminals in here and if I say you are a criminal that means I respect you. But if you have (had) sex (done to you) it's obvious that they will (see) you differently. Even the criminal in you is now gone and you are now a "wyfie" (someones wife). There is nothing we can do for (a person who has been raped) and we don't care.

If I allow myself to become a lady, I am going to be a "wyfie" until I finish my sentence. That's definitely sure and that's the truth. Even if I can be transferred to (an) other prison the guys there will know that where I come from, I was so-and-so's "wyfie" (wife) and will make sure that I become a wife there. Two quotes from prisoners as captured in a South African correctional services report on rape and violence in our prisons.

This sculpture comments on rape and violence in South African prisons - especially the impact it has on the inmate's masculinity. Sex is never discussed or even spoken about and when it is mentioned, it is referred to as "Daai Ding" (that thing) in Afrikaans. Attractive young men that commit a crime and get sent to prison will have to defend their masculinity by stabbing a warden or another inmate, if they don't, they will require protection and through subtle favours will become someones wife / "wyfie". Should they refuse, they could be raped and then their masculinity and respect as a criminal is gone forever anyway. One cannot imagine how it really affects such inmates, especially when they return home to their real wives and kids on release from prison.






















Exquisite Slave : Popsy : Popsie. (Detail of base) Earthenware fired, slip cast Ceramic sculpture with ceramic decals and gold lustre.

Posted in: Ceramic Art,Gallery 2009,reference material