Francois Knoetze – Cape Mongo

mongo n. slang. object thrown away and then recovered

Cape Mongo follows the stories of six characters as they journey through the city of Cape Town. Each Mongo character is made from the city’s discarded waste – mythical ‘trash creatures’ which have emerged from the growing dumps of consumer culture. In six short films, the creatures revisit the spaces of their imagined pasts – the locations associated with their material existence and the constitution of their social relations – as if walking against the consumer-driven currents of city. From postmodern shopping malls to the bustling streets of the Bo Kaap to leafy suburbia and desolate shipping-container yards, these characters’ journeys conjure up imagery that touches on some of the historical trajectories that have lead up to the endemic inequality and social alienation which characterises present day Cape Town.

The #FREESPACE installation features the full Cape Mongo movie series - VHS, Cell, Metal, Paper, Plastic, Glass - as Francois Knoetze’s statement on public space.