Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902)
During the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), many civilians were held in concentration camps.
Under difficult conditions, thousands of innocent people lost their lives, including women and very young children.
This photograph was taken at the cemetery of the Modimolle concentration camp.
Sitting infront of this grave in this place, the feeling is not only historical.
It is human, immediate, and silent.
The graves are small.
The space is open.
There is no movement, only presence.
What remains is not the event itself, but the weight of what happened here.
The silence of the ground feels heavier than words.
When I stood there, I became aware of the distance between past and present,
and at the same time the strange closeness of human suffering across time.
These were not soldiers.
These were people who lived ordinary lives,
children who did not yet understand the world,
families who did not choose to be part of war.
Places like this remind me that history is not only something we read.
It exists in space, in earth, in memory, in the body.
As an artist, I am interested in this kind of presence.
Not drama.
Not illustration.
Not storytelling.
But the quiet moment where something real is felt without explanation.
The stillness of this place reflects something I search for in my own work:
human presence
emotional distance
silence that carries weight
space that holds memory
When I look at these graves, I do not only think about the past.
I think about how human beings carry history inside themselves, even when nothing is being said.
This photograph is not part of a finished artwork.
It is part of my notes, my observations, and my ongoing reflection on how silence, space, and human presence can exist together.
—
Pieter Lategan
Notes / Reflection
Related reflection:
See also my earlier reflection on human responsibility and silence:
Moed teenoor Mag – Reflection inspired by Ester
| click here: https://pieterlateganart.blogspot.com/2025/11/ek-kan-seker-so-nou-en-dan-net-vir-jou.html
