The South African artist Robin Rhode has created a mural at Art Basel commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Soweto uprising, when 12 people were killed in clashes between demonstrators and police in South African townships. The work was made on the stand of the Cape Town-based Stevenson gallery on Thursday. “It’s a memorial, and will only remain on show for one day,” says Joost Bosland, the gallery’s director. The piece was made with Rhode’s handprints, recalling a photograph in which the sister of 12-year-old Hector Pieterson, who was shot by police, is holding up her hands. “The work demonstrates that within the context of Art Basel, there is still room for a political gesture,” the artist says.
