A synopsis & selection of drawings from Maia's graphic novel on South African art history.
SYNOPSIS
Soon the Moon (Part 1) follows the contrasting lives of two artists in Apartheid-era South Africa: Bill Hart, a White sculptor (my grandfather) who was once celebrated in Johannesburg’s elite art scene, and Thami Mnyele, a young Black artist whose work was essential to the fight against oppression.
Bill, eager for recognition, thrives on the support of powerful White patrons while also teaching young artists in Soweto – a rare move for a White artist. Thami, twenty years younger, is shaped by the struggle. The Black Consciousness movement fuels his art, transforming it into an act of defiance.
The Soweto Uprising of 1976 – where students protesting Afrikaans-language education are met with brutal police violence – shakes the nation, reinforcing the urgency of Thami’s mission. As the oppression against Black people increases, he remains steadfast, knowing that his work carries both power and peril.
Thami and fellow artists organize an exhibition in Soweto, outside White-controlled art spaces. The exhibition - 'A New Day' - held days after Steve Biko’s murder in 1977, is a moment of triumph.
In 1979, Thami is forced into exile in Botswana, where he meets other exiled artists and becomes co-founder of the Medu Art Ensemble. Meanwhile, Bill drifts into obscurity, never fully understanding the revolution unfolding around him.
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