The American writer James Baldwin asked the following thought-provoking question. Which of us has overcome his past. He asked this question as he studied American history at the time of the slave trade, and considered his country's inability to come to terms with its historical underbelly of racial violence. Baldwin also struggled with the idea of moral progress and questioned whether people really change when their historical context changes.

This question becomes important and very relevant when one considers the present realities in South Africa. The honeymoon period of the "Rainbow Nation" is over and we are in the process of re-thinking and re-defining our relationships with history, with our fellow countrymen, and a new reality for many-our relationship with nature. Baldwin's gripping People are trapped in history and history is trapped in confirms the energy that currently exists in our country.

With these questions and issues in mind, I have created series in which I set out to portray the reality that people (we) are inseparably connected to each other, and each other's past, present and future. To quote Baldwin We are trapped in each others past, present and

To bring this concept to life I have used the haunting images of coffles. A coffle is a line of slaves tied together and is derived from the Arabic , which . I have used historical images of actual coffles as reference points to strengthen the concept. Although the coffle recalls a painful time in the history of humanity, it is also a symbol of an inseparable unit or chain of people brought together by circumstances and moving towards a shared destiny. Acknowledging this unity becomes the coffle's strength and hope for survival.