Notes

This work forms part of a series of 15 paintings Meyer produced in 2015, titled Lost in the Dust, based loosely on events which occurred during the Anglo-Boer war; with each painting serving as a chapter in a cinematic framing of a re-imagined narrative. The fictionalised account of the Brandt family features in a number of these running narratives and, in this work, captures the Brandt family group fleeing their burning homestead. The human drama and acute expression of loss is palpable on the face of the woman to the men who ride beside her, their expressions deadened in stoic silence. A riderless horse following behind, asks an unanswered and unwanted question. Meyer poignantly re-imagines and skilfully re-creates this event, illustrating the dehumanising effect the scorched earth policy had on a Boer family.

From a glance, it appears that the artist is viewing the conflict from the Boer perspective but has said that his chief interest in the series is in the human condition during conflict.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFDX7aILgVA, accessed 21 February 2022.

Literature

Amanda Botha (2014) John Meyer – Lost in the Dust, Cape Town: Minx Publications, illustrated in colour on page 21.