800 years ago, on the top of Mapungubwe Hill, where the Shashe and the Limpopo rivers converge, a member of the royal family was laid to rest, and within the grave was placed a little rhino, twelve centimetres long and made of pure gold.

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This magnificent work speaks to us through time, and as an artist I see its significance not only as a symbol of the rich cultural legacy of Africa, but, as it was a complete representation of a rhino and not a segment of horn or body , it thereby embodies a species of real significance to these people, pointing to a deep connection and reverence with this mighty animal of Africa.

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It offers  a signpost to something that we have forgotten but fortunately not lost, for it can remind us that the natural world around us is much more than a commodity, a space or a view, it is an intrinsic part of who we are and where we have come from, and each rhino killed or tract of land destroyed is another part of ourselves lost, making visible the deep connection we have with the natural world, a connection which sustains our souls and reminds us to tread more lightly upon the earth.

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It was these thought and sentiments that inspired me to create Mapungubwe revisited, not only as a way to speak of the rhino, but to also bring these perspectives of our relationship with the earth into our modern world.