Bosveld 

Editor: This ink drawing on paper, titled "Bosveld" by Walter Battiss, presents a world built from lines. It’s almost maze-like. How would you begin to unpack what's going on here? Curator: As a materialist, I’m immediately drawn to the physical act of creation. Ink on paper; a very basic and accessible means of art production. I see Battiss reducing the landscape to its barest elements, challenging the romanticized image of the “bosveld”—the bushveld—and perhaps even critiquing its accessibility, asking who can truly “own” and represent this land through such simple means? Editor: That's interesting! I was focused on the abstraction of it, but thinking about accessibility hadn’t occurred to me. Are you suggesting he's making a comment on colonialism perhaps? Curator: Potentially, yes. Consider the implications of using inexpensive materials to represent a landscape often associated with luxury tourism and exploitation. What labor went into both the representation of the land but also the resources we're drawing *from* it, that are themselves extracted and materialized as commodified resources? Editor: So the medium is definitely the message here? Curator: In this case, the simple, stark, linear forms invite us to reflect upon the line, literally and metaphorically. Where do we draw the lines that define ownership, access, and exploitation in relation to the natural world and who are the subjects whose work go unacknowledged? Are we perhaps seeing here not only line art, but the laying bare of land claims that are themselves forms of drawn and materially-reinforced abstraction? Editor: That connection makes me think about other simple drawings—like maps or even children's art—and how they help make something very complex comprehensible... or, maybe dangerously oversimplified. Curator: Precisely. Thinking through the labor and resource use makes a big difference. It adds another dimension. Editor: This really opened my eyes. I'm going to pay closer attention to the "how" and "why" of artmaking now.