Art exhibition tells complex stories of SS Mendi demise
THE rich and complex meanings of the SS Mendi story are being explored at the Abantu BeMendi visual art exhibition at the National Arts Festival.
It brings forth rare documents, photographs, poetry and underwater footage of the Mendi wreck.
A hundred years after the sinking of the Mendi, its loss is only now being documented as an important element in the annals of South African history.
The exhibition commemorates the centenary of the sinking of the ship, which carried more than 600 South African troops to the Western Front during World War 1.
Drawn largely from SEK Mqhayi’s poem Ukutshona kukaMendi, the exhibition looks at the role the people of the Mendi played in the country’s struggle for land, human rights and dignity in South Africa.
A number of soldiers aboard the Mendi had come from rural areas in South Africa.
One of the curators of the exhibition, Dr Lucy Graham, said: “We are very honoured to bring the exhibition to the Eastern Cape, where many of the recruits on the Mendi were from.”
It is believed that among the men who were aboard the ship, 139 were from the Eastern Cape.
Graham said the idea of commemorating the centenary of the Mendi was inspired by the discovery of untold stories and rare photographs never before shown.
“The exhibition came about when I, alongside Prof Hugh Macmillan and Prof Xolela Mangcu decided to curate the events around the sinking of the ship.”
It was only after they had begun working with the University of Cape Town that they learnt of the significance in the story of the men on the Mendi.
“We learnt that the lower campus of the university was where the men were billeted and spent their last night on South African soil.”
Buhlebezwe Siwani, Mandla Mbothwe and Hilary Graham are the three artists whose work is on display at the exhibition.
“The photographs were found through archival research, and the artworks were sourced based on the artist’s interest in the Mendi.
“Our team put a great deal of time and thought into presenting the solemn story of the Mendi and its meanings for South Africa,” she said.
Interesting artefacts – like the poem Death Dance, written by Reverend Isaac Williams Dyobha – were recovered for the exhibition.
It is recorded in history books how Dyobha cried out to the dying men as the ship was sinking saying: “Be quiet and calm, my countrymen.
“What is happening now is what you came here to do ... you are going to die, but it is what you came here to do” (extract from the poem).
The men are believed to have taken off their boots and stomped the death dance on the deck of the ship as it sank.
Graham said the retrieval of the poem was “sentimental to the telling of the Mendi story”.
Another key element in telling the story is video footage on display at the exhibition.
When one draws near one can hear sounds from the depths of the sea around the Isle of Wight, which is where the Mendi sank.
“The underwater footage is from the documentary film Trooship Tragedy , which was produced by Marion Edmunds and Zwai Mgijima in 2015. The film depicts Mgijima on a journey to find the wreck.
“It documents divers entering the wreck site.”
Their findings can be seen and heard in the video playing from a small screen at the exhibition.
The SS Mendi sank in an estimated 20 minutes, but the excavation and archival of its significant artefacts at the Abantu BeMendi exhibition guarantees that its memory will live on in history books.
The exhibition is open to all members of the public at the Albany History museum for the duration of the festival.