Ancient and Modern

We want to show you the little corners in Mdantsane as well, the small things that get overlooked either because one is so used to them or because they are simply to subtle to be noticed often.

The post office No 5219 in Mdantsane Hi-way NU 1 displays a very impressive full wall mosaic on the front. It is beautifully done and shows a potpourri of South African scenes. In the left corner in the front stands a Xhosa woman in her traditional attire with a baby on her back and she is busy smoking a pipe.
In the back you can see modern houses on a mountain slope. In the right hand front corner a girl in school uniform is looking through a miscroscope. A well groomed gentleman in his Sunday suit and a hat looks over her shoulder smiling, and in the center part of the mural you can see a couple, the woman carrying a parcel on her head while the man is walking behind her.

The mosaic represents so well what South-Africa stands for today. It is the old and the new, the young and the old, the modern and the traditional, the rich and the poor - and all standing so close to each other that they can feel each other's breath. Each one of these scenes you can and will encounter in your daily life.

And a couple of seconds later, while I was still studying the mural, one of the motifs of the mosaic repeats itself on the street, when a young woman with a child on her arm passes by.

It is the first time that I have looked intensely at this work of art because I was waiting for someone in front of the post-office. I have seen it several times but I have never looked at it this way. For the first time the artist has achieved with me what I suppose he wanted to achieve. I have studied it and started reflecting about it.

It is a really beautiful and deep piece of art and I promised myself that I would go back to find out who the artist is.