‘Boer maak ’n plan’ triumphs over red tape delay

Nov 02, 2023

Written by

Duncan Guy

By Duncan Guy

Dutch artist Stef Veldhuis, left, and technician Jelle Reith with their apparatus connecting a mussel under uShaka Pier to organ pipes enabling people visiting the Heavy Waters exhibition to "hear" the sensitive organisms that scientists monitor to read the state of the ocean. Picture: Shelley Kjonstad ANA/African News Agency

Published 4h ago

Written by

Duncan Guy

By Duncan Guy

| Published 4h ago

Durban - A "boer maak ‘n plan" triumphed over a long airport delay this week when Durbanites rallied together to make it possible for an international art exhibition to happen on time after a set of organ pipes appeared to have been delayed at OR Tambo International Airport for a month.

The display, entitled "Heavy Waters", on until 3pm for the last day today at The Bond Shed in Point, blends art and science to read the vibrations of a mussel under uShaka Pier. It then translates this data from the sensors into sound through a series of organ pipes in glass lungs, allowing visitors to literally "hear" the mussel.

Conceptual composer, multi-media and audio artist, Stef Veldhuis. said that early last month he had sent 16 organ pipes to South Africa ahead of the exhibition, which opened on Wednesday. However, they had not been released by the time he flew into the country early this week. They had been in the hands of the freighting agent and Customs in the interim.

"Apparently, today they (Customs) found time to inspect it," he told the Independent on Saturday on Thursday evening at the exhibition opening.

"It was just unbelievable. I don't know why. But the Embassy of The Kingdom of The Netherlands, South African Association for Marine Biological Research (at Sea World) and I tried our best to get them released but they just stayed and stayed and stayed."

He said yesterday he had since requested that the pipes be "returned to sender" because it was too late for them to be involved in the exhibition.

On his arrival in Durban for the first international display of "Heavy Waters", people in Durban swung into action to source organ pipes.

The search took them to a church where a set of pipes had been decommissioned for a long time, his exhibition's publicist, Illa Thompson, said.

Veldhuis found himself in the streets of Durban, in the back of a bakkie, playing security guard to four organ pipes. Not only was he witnessing the iconic South African expression a "boer maak ‘n plan", Afrikaans for "a farmer makes a plan", in action, he also played an active role in the improvisation.

His technician, Jelle Reith, got to work instantly, assembling them with a few spare parts he had brought with him.

Fears that the delay could result in the cancellation of the exhibition were suddenly allayed.

"What I like is that this work is (now) really embedded within Durban culture," Veldhuis said.

"We had all these people helping us out, so it is really something that could only now exist (as a result)."

He said he was also amazed at all the enthusiasm that went into saving the day and it added positively to his exhibition experience.

"Part of these exchanges is that you really communicate with people and what happens around you," said Veldhuis.

At the time of going to press, the SA Revenue Service, under which Customs and Excise falls, was still seeking to establishan answer from the freighting agent.

The mussel is considered to be to the ocean what the canary is to coal mines and is super-sensitive to its surroundings. This makes it a suitable organism for scientists such as Kayja Philippart, with whom Veldhuis works closely, to monitor and calls "the guardian of the sea".

"It is one of the first entities that knows when something is awry," said Veldhuis.

"Scientists ‘read’ them to learn as much as possible about their eco-system."

In tidal zones, mussels live underwater when the tide is in and above the water when it is out.

"When they are above, they should close their shells. When below, they should open their shells because that's how they feed. They are filter feeders. They pump in seawater and take in nutrients and expel anything they don't need," said Veldhuis.

"If they are above water and are open, they are probably dead. If they are below water and closed, then something is wrong and it's probably because of pollutants in the water or an attacker – maybe a hungry crab – following them around. So, based on the context they are living in, compared with their behaviour, they can tell us a lot about the state of the ocean."

Veldhuis said that through his work, he tries to create new forms of kinship between himself and living organisms that he encounters.

"In this case it's the mussel."

The exhibition is a companion initiative to the #cocreateMyCity conference on urban water challenges, hosted by the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in South Africa.

Throughout the "Heavy Waters" exhibition, anyone can check in on the mussel's behaviour which will be broadcast at www.musselorgan.earth.

The Independent on Saturday