Scratches on the Face: Antiquity and Contemporaneity in South African Works of Art from Iziko Museums of Cape Town by Hayden Proud

ISBN: 9781874817390

Unisa Press, 1 October 2008

Paperback, 64 pages

With over 70 full colour illustrations in a coffee table format. This book was published in conjunction with the exhibition Scratches on the Face: Antiquity and Contemporaneity in South African Art, curated by Hayden Proud, Curator of Historical Paintings and Sculpture, Iziko Museums of Cape Town, South Africa. The marking of the 'face of the country' is so much a part of the human project in southern Africa. In pre-colonial times it took the form of ancient rock engravings; at another it articulated boundaries where people could or could not live because of their skin colour; it resulted in the deepest and most invasive scars in the earth ever made in the rapacious extraction of mineral wealth. In a metaphorical sense too, it has resulted in the marking and scarring of the psyche of its inhabitants. While in certain respects these aspects may be common to the faces of all countries everywhere, in South Africa they assume a powerful role in shaping human lives and culture.