Landmark

For a 'Studio Walkthrough' See below transcription.

Uudam lives and works in HoChiMinh City, Vietnam. He was born into an artist family in Kontum, central highland of Việt Nam. Having attended the University of Fine Arts in Sài Gòn (HCMC) as a young artist, he takes a strong lead from his late father, also an artist, who abandoned the war in the 70s and was sent to a re-education camp, before the family was able to move to the USA, where Uudam studied at UCLA and then achieved his Master of Fine Arts at School of Visual Arts in NYC.

 His work ranges from conceptual sculpture, drawing, installations and video to robotics art & performances. 

His art provokes with shocking clarity a rethinking of social issues, global power relations, our natural environment that struggles under an overwhelming expansion of cities such as Ho Chi Minh.

 He has exhibited widely in many museums and Biennales in Asia, Europe and the US. UuDam is one of the co-founder of the XEM collective.

“Whether the interaction between humans and technology, the tension of political borders between sovereign states, conflicts among humans, the slippage of perception of reality, they are an in-between space, an interface that results in us.”   VYgallery.com

Describe yourself in three words. 

Artist? Provocative? Stubborn! 

So you get to America as a family, the whole family leaves together, right? 

Yes, the family leaves together. 

And what was his impression? How did he respond to America? And how did you respond? 

He loved it. We all loved it. 

This is of course the enemy. 

You know, we don't think about it as an enemy. No, I don't. If you sit down and you say, "Oh, yeah, you fought America." "What was the real enemy?" Yes, you know, we think, "Yes, there was a time. There was a time that we were enemies." But America has a very favorable viewing of the Vietnamese. Because a lot of enemies fled to America after the war and before the war. And they sent over, you know, a lot of money to help the economy and the relatives here. And so I think you come to Vietnam and you can see its kind of shocking that the animosity between the old enemy, you know, and the Vietnamese virtually didn't exist. 

So we went there, you know, with the idea that we want to study at the best universities. We don't ever talk about, it just doesn't come up to our mind that, you know, "Well, that's your enemy teaching you." Not until you get into the conversation and you dissect it. And yeah, okay, who wins, who won, and what happened...

Music: 'Mystical Guzheng Journey' produced by VPRODMUSIC

UuDam's studio walkthrough:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVlm4cMR7YNwm8Hvj7cPyGHdYcj7o23K8

I mentioned a QR CODE - but had to use this support link instead:

 ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Landmark⁠

(There is a button on the page for payment submissions - the virtual coffee translates to my production time.)

CREDITS

Music design for this episode was by Samuel Francis Johnson; the 3d audio water soundscape you heard was recorded with a hydrophone in the springs of Table Mountain by the artist Mia Thomm; Thanks to Micha Espinosa and Sara Matchett for the deep dive into an understanding of voice and ritual, to Tauriq Jenkins for his cultural perspectives on the Two Rivers confluence, and for Daily Maverick for use of that extract from Cormac Cullinen: https://www.wildlaw.net/resources-and-library/daily-maverick-webinar-should-nature-have-rights

Comprehensive assessment of the Cultural significance

PODCAST OUTLINE

Recently, a Lamentation ritual was held at the Liesbeek and Black river confluence, Cape Town, to express the sense of outrage but also the centuries of cultural evisceration that has occurred to first nation groups in South Africa.

The event was shared by a group from Arizona, led by Micha Espinosa, Professor at Arizona State University who regularly collaborates with the performance art group La Pocha Nostra. Her response to Trump's 'No Tolerance' policy at the US-Mexico border, that separates parents and children who cross the border articulated a similar sense of outrage.

The event was also a collaboration with SARA MATCHETT, associate professor at the University of Cape Town’s The Centre for Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies, and a group who shares the vision of embodied vocal work - what some have termed 'Sonic Activism'. The voices of the two performers in this episode were those of Ntombi Makhutshi and Adriana Jamisse.

THE RIVER

If you look in the direction of Table Mountain - or ‘Hoerikwaggo’ - to what hikers call Devil’s Peak, you’re facing the Liesbeek river source. Like the spring water arteries that move under the city of Cape Town, there is a sense of continuity with an ancient history. A sense of sacred place that makes it a place of ritual and worship.

Amazon's presence here at the river site has created division - some have favoured the employment opportunity that Amazon claims to offer  - in a country with one of the heftiest unemployment rates - as well as the promises that Amazon has made to build an indigenous heritage centre and clean up the wetlands area around it.

The argument is that the river confluence and wetland area is surrounded by highways - what developers claim has been a  neglected space occupied by a dilapidated golf course, parking lot, dump site, and a heavily polluted river. Exactly why the presence of a multi national might have some meaningful contribution to make. Others find those claims laughable, coming from a multi national with the track record of employee exploitation in other countries.

However you see the dispute here about land rights, what is clear is that there is deeply felt attachment to this area. The sense of injustice that was felt from the first time land was divided up by a Colonial governor. Here’s an entry from the Dutch East India journal 6 April 1660:

" ..This day peace was renewed at the Fort with the captain and chief … and all the principal and oldest of the tribe … They dwelt long upon our taking every day for our own use more of the land, which had belonged to them from all ages, and on which they were accustomed to depasture their cattle They asked, wether, if they were to come into Holland, they would be permitted to act in a similar manner…"

IN CONVERSATION WITH MICHA ESPINOZA

Ref. Borderlands / La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldua remaps our understanding of what a "border" is, presenting it not as a simple divide between here and there, us and them, but as a psychic, social, and cultural terrain that we inhabit, and that inhabits all of us.

https://www.amazon.com/Borderlands-Frontera-Mestiza-Gloria-Anzaldúa/dp/1879960850

I've been digging into the archives to find this story again - the one I usually reference as a Good Story told by a true raconteur.

I'd met him in the Cederberg Mountains, Western Cape, where he was overseeing the maintenance of an accommodation site.

He'd arrived in South Africa en route a Commonwealth Games event, having sailed from St Helena island (where Napoleon Bonaparte had been banished) and had stepped off the ship at the foreshore in Cape Town. Within hours he'd met the woman he was going to marry...

The intriguing story you hear is told as I'm checking out of the above accommodation - he'd told it to me over dinner and promised to tell me again when I had my mic handy!

I often think about it because there are so many questions still. If this was a hard-nosed journalistic quest, I may have pushed beyond diplomacy. You'll probably have some of the same questions. Please let me know what they are! Contact via: https://www.facebook.com/LandmarkPodcast

If you've enjoyed the episode - or value the series, please support at Buy Me A Coffee:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Landmark

Ashley Dowds

PODCHASER tracker

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AFRICA UNITE

SYNOPSIS: We keep to ourselves most of the time. It’s convenient. When you’re put into a position of DIScomfort, something outside of your experience or culture or environment, you’re challenged to look at the reasons for discomfort. Uniting is not all roses and unicorns - it calls for an objectivity and openness that is a necessary aspect of personal development inside of your own community - which goes a long way to finding a sense of that Unite wherever you travel.

Thanks to the Africa Unite team and all of the interns who were part of this podcast. Music for this ep was created by a whole range of creatives - they’re all listed in the show notes. So is the support link and QR code to Buy Me A Coffee. Keeping the beacons burning is one way of saying it, but your support will go a long way to more exploring. Please subscribe to Landmark onSpotify and Facebook and share the links! These stories need to be heard. 

SHOWNOTES 

The legacy of a series such as this one would be a marker of our present time as a nation, presenting an engaging audio experience for any listener as a stand alone creative platform.

Please share with your communities! 

Landmark on Spotify: Landmark

Able to Support this podcast?

Support via Buy Me A Coffee: https://bmc.link/Landmark 

Suggestions and offers for sponsorship of the series: [email protected]

Music credits: 

‘Ambient Suspense Atmosphere’ by Stringer_Bell

‘Rhythmics of Africa’ by BrightestAvenue

Clown music

Music by Music_For_Videos

Music by SOFRA

LONGFORM OVERVIEW:

🌍 Africa Unite: A Journey of Connection and Empathy 🤝

I wanted to share an experience I had recently creating the latest episode of ‘Landmark’ - the Africa Unite episode. This episode opened my eyes to the realities of economic contrasts and social challenges in Cape Town. Most international travellers arriving at Cape Town airport comment on the mind-boggling economic contrasts that they see on the road to their hotel in town. It’s their first glimpse of what economists call the mini co-efficient; the difference between affluence and poverty. Even as a local, driving into informal settlements can be sobering. 

 The Gugulethu District, home to hundreds of thousands of people living in informal shacks, stood as a vivid reminder of the hardships faced by the community. It's ranked among the most deprived areas in Western Cape, with Nyanga even known as the country's top murder "hotspot."

But amidst these difficulties, there is hope. The Africa Unite organization is making a significant impact by fostering connections and understanding among diverse individuals. Accompanied by a social worker from Africa Unite, we ventured into the heart of the townships, where we encountered individuals from various countries, including the United States, Spain, the Netherlands, and even a Swiss clown! These townships not only reflect the legacy of apartheid but also provide shelter for migrants seeking refuge from conflict, economic collapse, and political repression in other African nations.

The episode also showcased the Africa Unite program's impact on the lives of children living in challenging circumstances. Gudrun Salewski, a nurse from Switzerland and a passionate clown, joined the program. She taught the children magic tricks and the art of clowning, encouraging acceptance of diversity and providing them with a creative outlet for self-expression.

Africa Unite is is a movement that engages communities and promotes dignity and understanding. It reminds us of the importance of responding to the needs of vulnerable individuals and the long-term consequences if we fail to do so.

Let's unite, break barriers, and create a world where empathy and compassion prevail. Join me in this eye-opening episode of Africa Unite and discover the power of connection and personal growth.

#AfricaUnite #PowerOfConnection #Empathy #CommunityBuilding

LANDMARK EPISODE: 'Bells For Tutu'

SHOWNOTES 

The legacy of a series such as this one would be a marker of our present time as a nation, presenting an engaging audio experience for any listener as a stand alone creative platform.

Please share with your communities! 

Landmark on Spotify: Landmark

Able to Support this podcast?

Support via Buy Me A Coffee: https://bmc.link/Landmark 

Suggestions and offers for sponsorship of the series: [email protected]

Episode Synopsis

Theresa is Ashley's neighbour, and a bell ringer at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town.  It’s a quirky hobby in a world of Facebook. It’s not long after lockdown that they drive to a rehearsal at the bell tower for a special occasion: The loss of a national treasure - Archbishop Tutu.

The podcast begins with a discussion of the iconic Table Mountain in Cape Town and how people can get used to their surroundings and stop noticing them. This leads to a discussion of the bells ringing from the cathedral and the role of the steeple keeper, who is responsible for maintaining the bells and the tower.

The conversation then turns to the history of the bells at St. George's Cathedral, which were recast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London and shipped back to Cape Town in the late 1970s. The author notes that the Whitechapel foundry is famous for creating bells all over the world, including the Liberty Bell and Big Ben.

The author and Theresa arrive at the cathedral and find that the area has been blocked off due to a national event. There is scaffolding being constructed around the entrance and cars are being monitored entering the car park.

They meet with other bell ringers and members of the committee, including the tower captain, the secretary, and the treasurer. Theresa explains that they typically meet on Tuesday nights for practice and ring on Sunday mornings for the early service. However, due to lockdown, they have not been able to ring and this will be their first time back.

The conversation then turns to the different traditions of bell ringing, including the hands-on percussion called Carillon and the swinging of bells, which is what St. George's Cathedral does. Theresa notes that they often have ringers from the UK come to visit and participate in "tower grabs," which involve ringing at as many different churches as possible in a short amount of time.

This episode of Landmark provides insight into the history and traditions of bell ringing at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town, as news journalists gather from around the world for the celebration of ‘the Arch’. His words, captured in Guildhall London at the Templeton Prize event in 2013 end the episode and still move powerfully in a country now desperate for true leaders and ethical leadership.

On Freedom Day in April 2021, we listened to the plea from the Khoi first nation for a recognition that was effectively stripped from them since the beginning of the arrival of the Dutch in South Africa. The underlying question is:  what does it mean to find meaning in culture? Does THAT offer a way to find a sense of who you are - a sense of belonging? And how far back do you go? Is ancient tradition always valid? So I went back to someone I met on freedom Day, at the Khoi resistance march: Deirdre Prins Solani, who has specialised in the area of Intangible Heritage as a UNESCO representative.

Three land artists from Tankwa Artscape  2020 residency reveal illuminating concepts about identity and landscape.

The Tankwa Artscape is an artists' residency in the Northern Cape region of the Tankwa Karoo desert: https://tankwaartscape.co.za

"Imagine a desert floor, undisturbed by human traffic. It’s not the absence of life that is so dramatically visual. It is a few million years old retrospective of ancient seabed and cataclysmic geological events in Earth history, and the footprint of storms and water flow in the riverbeds. Vast pans nudge aside scrub and vlei and gentle hills and land, which drop outside of the quick glance, towards a perimeter of deep-set mountain horizon..."

Kim Goodwin Transported his foundry this year to the desert, to use an ancient technique for sculpting bronze in the earth. His first land art were 3 giants woven in wattle, called The Fear Gods. “People talk of this place as a ‘heart opening place’… “ He also talks about AfrikaBurn’s ideas for ‘The Ephemeral’ - treading lightly on the earth: “We get attached to THINGS, he says. When we were nomadic, we embraced change, we were less attached to permanency.” He explains how the story of the first human beings that live here captured his attention - in Pippa Skotnes’ book ‘Claim To The Country’, and subsequently built a monument in 2016 at AfrikaBurn, to the |Xam! non-existent now, in the Tankwa. 

See: https://www.afrikaburn.com/binnekringblog/humans-of-afrikaburn-kim-goodwin

Nomusa Mtshali Artscape 2021 included a Zulu artist, Nomusa Mtshali who also IDENTIFIES as gender neutral. Her concept of identity is rooted in the idea of a self that is not tied to the genitals! Her WORK is all about the provocation that invites questions about identity. THEY created an ‘alter-ego’ called TITANIUM, who wears a beard and often a skirt - sometimes a pink priest’s collar. She once called her exhibition “UZulu” (Heaven), with its focus on spirit/soul as the essence of identity (as opposed to gender). She explains how Zulu traditional culture is more accepting of the ‘inkonkoni’ (gay/gender ambiguous - the word  mean ‘blue wildebeest’, which is not to live in homosexual relationships.). She also speaks with personal knowledge about healers and spirits that were part of her own family. 

See: https://www.kznsagallery.co.za/Artists/Profile/641/nomusa-mtshali

Kali (named after the goddess of creation and destruction!) Who wants to LOSE HERSELF, not find herself… to get to the point where there are NO LANDMARKS. Her work is photographic and she ‘light paints’ at night, becoming ghostly in the photo, and melting INTO the environment.

Kali's website: https://www.kali.co.za

For a visual feast, visit the Tankwa Artscape's Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/tankwaartscape/

 What we learn from history is that no one seems to learn from history: What if we were to embrace epic literature again, with its eternal lessons from the past and rebounding tropes of greed and empire that we still see in politics today? Can it still teach us about what constitutes heroism? Or more specifically, can we learn to find our own sense of heroism, which comes down to the most basic level of consciousness: to be present and attentive. That’s what we’re searching for here on ‘Landmark’: a sense of owning who we are.

This month, we speak to Abdallah Dutton who explodes the stereotypes of Cape Muslim ‘culture’ - a Scottish muslim living in Cape Town’s BoKaap, who has leant to live beyond identity politics. 

His own podcast also asks: “How does one become a hero in a world that teaches us to accept things the way they are?  Join Abdallah Dutton as he explores the concept of heroism in search of uncovering what we, as Muslims in the 21st Century, can do to live up to our heroic past.”

In Search Of A Muslim Hero (Podcast)

Dhikr (Rememberance) recited by  Hajjie Armien Kannemeyer’s Thikr Jamaa, which includes:

- Armien Kannemeyer

- Sedick Kannemeyer 

- Wafeeq Simons

- Tashrieq Adams 
Instagram: @ricky._adams

- Sulaiman Kannemeyer 
Instagram: @sulaimankannermeyer08

- Labib Kannemeyer 
Instagram: @labibkannermeyer09

SUMMARY

Landmark: episode 3

“Guardians of the Cape”

Summary

The tombs of Indonesian spiritual leaders surround the Cape (Western Cape, South Africa). The Holy men or Tuans, whose bodies are in these tombs, were heroes in the Cape Muslim community. They provided hope and kept the practice of Islam alive in a society where it was outlawed.

In this episode, Fatima Holliday interviews Sheikh Fakhruddin Owaisi on Cape Muslim History. He tells us of the first muslims brought to Cape Town in the 1600s, from Indonesia, by the Dutch-East-India Company (or VOC). Among them there were soldiers from the defeated armies; saints; scholars; and royal people. The practice of Islam was banned for the first 150 years of Muslims present on the peninsula at the time.

We hear of Tuan Yusuf of Macassar who came to the Cape in 1694. He was one of the saints who kept Islam alive in the Cape. In his native Macassar, Indonesia he was a great saint, scholar, leader and mufti. His tomb/kramat is in the Western Cape in an area named Macassar, along the N2 highway.

In 1790, Tuan Guru arrived in the Cape and he took the muslims here to another level. That being, the official practice of Islam. He came from Cirebon, Indonesia, where he was the head mufti. In Cape Town he left a legacy too.  He led the first Jumuah, opened the first mosque, first madrasa and established the first muslim graveyard. His final resting place is in that very graveyard, named the Tanu Baru, situated in Bo Kaap, Cape Town.

Sheikh Owaisi ends off with telling us some interesting stories about the Tuans.

Bullet and Key Topics

- Cape Mulsim History

- Tuan Yusuf of Macassar

- Tuan Guru

- Cape Muslim Tombs/ Kramats

Word Glossary

(Greeting) Assalaamhu alaykum wa ragmatullahi wa barakatu: “Peace onto you from me as well as the mercy of God and blessings to you”

Adhkar/Gadat/Thikr: a muslim gathering where hymns are melodiously recited (a short example of this is in our podcast is the introduction piece - the “Allahu, Allahu…”. The other recitals in this episode are not the same, they are purely Quran recitals)

Auliyah: friends of God 

Aulamah: scholars

Imam: a person who leads Islamic prayers in a mosque

Jumuah: congregational prayer on a Friday

Kramat: tomb

Mufti: an expert on Islamic law and is qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion on a point

Madrasa: muslim school/slamse skool

Sheikh: Leader/Elder/Noble/Sir in a muslim community

Tuan: Holy (title of a Saint)

People

Sheikh Fakhruddin Owaisi is the Head of Department of Islamic Studies at IPSA, Cape Town, as well as a senior lecturer there and at Madina Institute. He is a prominent local scholar who is well-known for his passion for Islamic History, holding in MA degree in Religious Studies from the University of Cape Town.

Fatima Holliday is a young, Capetonian lady with a passion for the natural and spiritual sciences. She holds an Honours degree in Environmental and Geographical Science and is a qualified beginner yoga teacher.

Ammaar Jabodien – Qari (Quran reciter)

Ebrahim Davids – our resident musician – guitarist and vocalist for the podcast introduction.

Produced and Edited by Ashley Dowds

story2voice.com

Social Media Handles

Fatima Holliday

Instagram handle: @nature_with_fatima

PODCAST LINK

 https://www.buzzsprout.com/1780116/9279584

LANDMARK: episode two

“Nation-Building”
DATE: 01.09.2021

SUMMARY:

A National Identity seems as illusory as the concept of ‘Self’. When there are eleven official languages, and many others which didn’t make the cut, it seems impossible to find what forms that halo of belonging. Especially if your historical identity was obliterated by historical genocide. As early as 1510, the first nation Khoi faced off with a Portuguese viceroy on the Western Cape coastline. The legacy of that event still resonates amongst the leaders and communities who trace an ancestry back to the people whose words are emblazoned on the South African coat of arms: “Strength in diversity” - or “diverse people unite” (!KE E:/XARRA //KE)

This is the story of Land, Culture and Belonging - the synthesis of all of these are wrapped up in the story that was re-told on Freedom Day this year (2021) at the sight of a contested piece of land along the Black River. One that is held sacred to the story of that first nation group of South Africans. Land that is ring-fenced for development by a major multi-national corporation.

As James Baldwin, the great American novelist, playwright, and activist remarked:

"history, as nearly no one seems to know, is not merely something to be read.  And it does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past.  On the contrary, the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do.  It could scarcely be otherwise, since it is to history that we owe our frames of reference, our identities, and our aspirations.”

BULLET POINTS AND KEY TOPICS

• First Nation status: Khoi confederacy
• When a corporate giant wants your land
• How to outline the story of a nation
• Can we all belong?

SUGGESTED READING

The Lie of 1652: A decolonised history of land, Patric Tariq Mellet,Tafelberg; 1st edition (1 Sept. 2020). 
Available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lie-1652-decolonised-history-land-ebook/dp/B08HR4QJ2X

BOOK EXTRACT

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-09-15-the-lie-of-1652-a-decolonised-history-of-land/

PEOPLE

Deidre Prins Solani

https://en.unesco.org/who-who-women-speakers/prins-solani

Bradley Von Sitters

https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2020-09-23-uct-launches-milestone-khoi-and-san-centre

Tauriq Jenkins 

https://www.africanstudies.uct.ac.za/axarra-restorative-justice-forum

Malika Ndlovu

https://malikandlovu.wordpress.com/about/

SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES/CONTACT

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LandmarkPodcast

PODCAST LINK