MYTHOLOGICAL LANDSCAPES
The Digital Mythological Landscapes project was inspired by engagements with archaeological research, particularly that of sites that have been scanned using photogrammetry and other 3D scanning techniques. Some of these sites are in Kuruman and are sacred spaces and the home of the water snake (Noga ya metsi). Their presentations derived out of the 3D scanning focus on the ‘objective’ representation of these sites and prioritized the scan's usefulness for archaeological research. In doing this, however, the scans concealed the spiritual and ritual value of these places for some of the community members. Through the digital mythological landscapes project, we explore ways of engaging 3D models towards the re-mystifying of these landscapes and pushing back on what is seen as an extension of the colonial project which aimed to map the world and bring light to a ‘dark continent’ using a Cartesian framework, although the real intentions behind colonial mapping have been far more sinister.
Visit the Ga-Mohana digital site here: https://rockartportal.org/Ga-Mohana.html
Research Outputs and Publications :
2024 3D scanning: we recreated a sacred South African site in a way that captures its spirit
2022 The Drone, the Snake, and the Crystal: Manifesting Potency in 3D Digital Replicas of Living Heritage and Archaeological Places.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11759-022-09460-3
2022 Drawing Creepy places: Representing Liminal Ritual Spaces of Kuruman, South Africa
https://www.dialecticjournal.org/volume-9#MaapeDrawing
2021 Innovative Homo Sapiens Behaviour 105,000 years ago in a wetter Kalahari
http://www-nature-com-s.vpn.sdnu.edu.cn/articles/s41586-021-03419-0?error=cookies_not_supported&code=7c93e7f2-0403-411a-8b08-bd61013c4f7f
