A Technicolor Armored Vehicle Arrives In A San Francisco Parking Lot

This Apartheid-era police vehicle, covered in 70 million beads is at Fort Mason for three days!

This crazy truck has shown up in a parking lot in SF, but it’s no accident and no, it’s not an art car from Burning Man or the mobile home of a new vegan cult either (we can already hear “damn hippies” echoing through the streets). This 12-ton police vehicle is a labor of love by South African artist, Ralph Ziman. The truck will be rolling across the Golden Gate Bridge before heading to the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture as part of the San Francisco Tribal & Textile Art Show from Feb 21 to 23.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by San Francisco Art Enthusiast (@sfartenthusiast) on Feb 20, 2020 at 2:14pm PST

The ghost of apartheid

The Casspir Project stemmed from Ziman’s desire to transform this symbol of terror into a beautiful expression of the people and their traditional craft. This Casspir is a decommissioned police vehicle that was initially used during Apartheid to intimidate and oppress black people. The sight of one would evoke the smell of tear gas and burning tires for Ziman and others that lived through the period, according to his website.

The mobile artwork “Spoek 1”, meaning ghost in Afrikaans, has traveled from Cape Town to California and will be traveling–it’s still fully functioning–around Los Angeles as a mobile exhibition.

Take a closer look

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by MIAMI LIVING Magazine (@miami_living_magazine) on Dec 5, 2019 at 1:21pm PST

At a first glance, it may look like the truck is decorated with neon paint, upon closer inspection, you’ll find the work of 100 Zulu, Shona and Ndebele craftsman using 70 million beads and traditional beadwork patterning to create this magnificent marvel, which is why it’s featured in the show.

Step inside the “Spoek 1”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Matt Franklin (@mmf765) on Dec 5, 2019 at 12:47pm PST

For scale

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Lady Em/ Emily- Mom Jen S (@my.dog.inspires.me) on Mar 1, 2019 at 9:59pm PST

Also for scale

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Rendon Gallery (@therendongallery) on Mar 10, 2019 at 11:15am PDT

You get the point, it’s gigantic

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tiny Modernism (@tinymodernism) on Feb 16, 2019 at 11:26pm PST

The artist behind it all

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ralph Ziman (@afrika_47) on Oct 23, 2019 at 9:57am PDT

Ralph Ziman is a South African artist and filmmaker currently living and working in Los Angeles, California. He is known for salvaging items from Pan-African history and repurposing them to create a new dialogue.

[Feature Image: @whatsinanamehuh]