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Sondag Oggend se Kerk Kak
Reinventing the Afrikaans Male Subculture, Within a Cultural Christian Frame.
about the work
My process stems from research that leads to the creation of the sequential art. Once I have the main theme in mind, I draw the “anchor page” and allow the story to flow from there. I will be engaging in metaphors that allude to abjection, otherness and transformation of the human body in a horror context. In this case it will be Lovecraftian horror as it engages with the unknown and challenges human understanding. The media will be presented in sequential art and a format that is suitable for mounting on a wall. A comic book format will allow me to reach my audience in a manner that is contemporary to them. It also allows me more power over the storytelling and makes it easier to spread the message. My work seeks to visually portray this shifting of identity in a sequential art format because it can transform personal narratives with the use of text and images
workbook pages
summary from the text book
two rough conceptual ideas
This is a short cartoon concept that highlights the contradictions within Afrikaner culture.
I initially had the idea to create a few simplistic design pieces. The pieces need to look simple visually, but lead the viewer to a deeper level of thinking the longer they viewed it and contemplated all the elements before them. This piece specifically alludes to the unreal fear of apartheid being brought back and more so being used as a control mechanism.
the text on the page reads:
A satire – a family is getting ready to go to church – the NG MOEDERGEMEENTE! the mother is rushing the children telling them they mustn’t keep God waiting – as they pull up to the church building the panel points out all the Masonic influences on the church and the reasons it’s built as such – VISA CARD ADD! PANEL LAYOUT
The comic to the right is a metaphor alluding to the daily life of farmers. The farmer’s wife being dutiful checks up on him to make sure she serves him correctly. She believes he is working hard on the farm, in the meantime the farmer is busy screwing a farm worker bent over the back of his bakkie. The metaphor alludes to how Zimbabwean farm workers are being screwed over by farmers, who are the ones that actually do the work while the farmer derives pleasure from their hard work.
on the right is another short story about two Afrikaner men comparing their ford bakkies as if they were talking about their penises and the ability to perform sexually.
Another concept, Jan need to go to the toilet to take a shit. He refers to himself as feeling “verkrampt”. Once he has relived himself, he says that now he is feeling “verlig”.
on the leff I did some research concerning different satirical methods or styles.
The far left are examples of satire while the immediate left is the illustration that flows from the panel above stating “a satire“. Reading the short piece lead me to start investigating certain structures and systems of Free Masonry that are prevalent in the NG churches.
Short timeline of Free Masonry in South Africa.
Another short comic idea to highlight the use of original meaning of the obelisk that is readily seen in NG courtyards
Some more research on how deep Free Masonry is instilled within Afrikaner culture. What’s interesting is how
In South Africa, particularly among Afrikaners, there was a significant overlap between members of the NG Church and Freemasonry. This cultural overlap could have resulted in the adoption of Masonic symbols like obelisks in church settings. This is not the only remnant of free masonry present in the NG church. Although there is no substantial evidence to support this, there is the matter that debates are ongoing in my local NGK as to whether freemasons should be allowed to continue in leadership positions in the church. There is also the debate regarding the different structures and symbols representing freemasonry and if it should be allowed to stay in the church. My church for one split because the freemasons in the church did not want to give up any leadership positions in the church even though the congregation wanted it that way. The church I attended was a presbyterial church with many of its members hailing from the UK. During my four-year service as a deacon in the church I was approached many times by members who were open about being masons and given literature to read. So the question of the influence is a no-brainer. However, the routes of masonry is much deeper in the Afrikaans community and especially amongst the farmers.
One of the first concepts for the comic that came to mind. The purpose is to bring attention to the contradiction between the obelisk in the courtyard and the virtues of Christianity. The intention is to be more subtle than this.
Why the continuous reference to sex or sexual organs? Kristeva’s theory of abjection has been a common thread throughout my work since my second year. I consider this a continuation or exploration of her theory. Her theory of abjection also works with the subject. My intention is to start a discussion around these contradictory elements of the Afrikaner culture by bringing the taboo to the fore. Nothing hurts the conservative Afrikaner ear more than talking about sex and I use “conservative” lightly.
Sexuality often goes against cultural norms and disrupts Lacan’s symbolic order. Sexual organs and sexual activity can break social, moral, and cultural rules, making them sites of abjection, this is very relevant in what we are seeing today regarding LGBTQI+ communities. When sexual organs are exposed, or sex occurs, it challenges society’s attempt to keep things clean, orderly, and controlled. This exposure reveals the chaotic and primal aspects of human nature. Which to me, feels like something they are trying extremely hard to cover up, especially in this so-called conservative platteland town.
Research regarding the symbolic meaning of the obelisk. There are various meanings depending on the culture.
another concept for the comic
concept cont/…
I reflected on some of my personal work and created some new work. The purpose was to find aspects of my old work that alluded to what i’m doing now and also to look at specific techniques that I might want to replicate.
crit feedback sessions
what I've taken from this...
the assimilation of ‘other’ into the Afrikaners culture. subtlety. bigger panels. spacing of panels. conrad botes research. advocating vs what they saying. nuanced approach. skeletal boundary of the inside and outside. house of horror kristeva carry the horror in us. DISTRICT 9. subtlety of relationship between the text and imagery. print on canvas or work on canvas. new mode of expression. replicate digital in an analogue method. no guilty afrikaner. conceptualising own identity within the afrikaner narrative. be careful of over-complication. focus on robertson. the title of the work. work over print. needs to be critical regarding the layout. critical look at comic. furthering the identity of new afrikanerism. the severed head. accept or deny. how does the subtlety come through.
reflections
In this video, I review my last piece of sequential art. I highlight certain aspects that I liked, that I didn’t like, and that I might want to replicate. I also refer to some older work that I’ve done where I particularly like the finish result and consider how it will tie in with the bigger picture.
story, thumbs and revision
thumbnails
so, as of 02/07 I can confirm a minimum of twenty pages. These thumbnail images (aka thumbs) are to keep me on track with the story as well as plan the page layout. Not all the thumbs have images, because some pages just “happen” in the sense that something sparks the idea of the illustration. I tend to jump around and not work from page 1 through to 20. i might add some filler pages for flow of the story.
the purpose of the section below is to keep track of my story page for page. I want to see how the story evolves so I won’t delete any changes, but just keep adding to the story. This will act like a storyboard. I will add new pages to the mock up section below.
NEW PAGE
When I was done with page 17 I realised I need another page between 17 and 18 to set the scene. l It will be another full page scene to give it the effect it needs.
FORMAT CHANGE
because of time and spacing constraints I have decided to draw some of my pages in A4 instead of A3 (08/09/2024)
WORKFLOW
Time is running out, after a conversation with Laurette, reverting back to digital blues and traditional inking. (15/09/2024)
page 1
establishing location,opening shot with map and long shot of church, panel split slightly skew to emphasize clock tower.
page 2
showing the dutch gables to give more information on the location, moves into a longshot of the van Zyl family’s home, the purpose of this page is to introduce you to the family with the family portraits and also to share some information on them, a very common Afrikaans saying against the wall “elke huis het sy kruis” you can see the it’s a double story house to show the families financial means. panel are 1/3 and 2/3
page 3
introducing the family members, panel 1 Johannes Jacobus Hendrik van Zyl affectionately known as Jan Hendrik brushing his teeth, panel 2 introduces Susana Magdalena Christina van Zyl aka Dalena, panel 3 is the mother name to be confirmed
page 4
the scene cuts to the father who is sitting on the toilet taking a “dump”, panels are 1 to 2 ratio again, father struggles on the toilet, needs to come through in drawing
page 5
scene cuts to son, he says something in the line of “What the fuck stink so nae kak, vok man” to which his mother replies ” Jan-Hendrik hoe durf jy so praat! jou taal gebruik is liederlik. to which he responds “jammer Ma, ek het bedoel wat die vok ruik so na kak” to which his mother responds ” baie beter”. Implying that the fault was not the words used, but the language.
page 6
the family driving to church, in a fortuner, you’re nothing in Robertson if you don’t drive a fortuner… all the farmers’ wives have one, at the same time another hint at the families financial status… or are they just trying to keep up the stereotype?
page 7
family parking and getting out, mother warning the kids about their behaviour, gossiping about another families kids.
page 8
neatens up the children
page 9
walking to the church, dominee standing next to the obelisk, mother tells children. “kyk net hoe bly is dominie om vir ons te sien” you won’t see the dominie’s face in the illustration, but the obelisk will be highlighted, the metaphor being the “erection” of the phallic symbol alluding to early hollywood tv trope, innuendo spoken often by flirtatious women.
page 10
ariel shot of people sitting in church pews
page 11
in the first panel the church starts singing, in the second the dominie finishes his prayer, the third panel zooms in on his eyes and he says “die duiwel is vandag hier”
page 12
this page is divided into 3 panels, in the first the dominie explains how there is a devil in the church and starts accusing people at random, in the second panel the camera shows the scared faces of the congregation, in the last panel he reveals the reason why he knows the devil is here
page 13
the page starts with dominie’s exclamation “Iemand het gekak!” the farthers face is inserted in a smaller panel in the bo0ttom right with a look of shock
page 14
dominie accuses a random person again, camera zoomed in on his sweating face being wiped with a handkerchief. next panel shows the randomly accused pleading and stating that although he badly wants to go take a dump, he didn’t and is keeping everything in.
page 15
jan snr stands up an exclaims it was him, goes on to explain how good he feels now and how much better it would be if everyone just took a dump.
page 16
back forth between dominie and jan snr.
page 17
all hell breaks lose, jan snr starts to transform into the demonized figure of ‘change’ growing tentacles and horns, his face drops off his genitals exposed and inflated.
page 18
jan snr starts squeezing everyone until he squeezes the shit out of them. at this point the whole inside of the church is covered in faeces. jan snr grabs dominie and starts squeezing him too.
page 19
pastor refuses to “let go” instead of him soiling his pants, his head explodes at the cost of changing.
page 20
outside shot of church, reference to the abject that only becomes abjection once it leaves the “body” the church being a reference to God’s house and the congregation being the “body” of Christ… considering that when they leave they will be bringing a lifetime of “abjection” into the open, covered in shit, yet happy.
mockups
workflow and experimentations
after printing out the blue mockups, it’s attached to the back of my paper.
the purpose of this is to make a rough transfer
i use a light board to trace with
I have a rough pencil sketch I work over, I still use photo reference, but now I have a layout.
the trees!
I want to create some contrast, and the best place to do it now will be with the trees. I also want the trees to convey a feeling of unease. I could do the familiar way and block in the shapes with the fine liners, but it won’t give me the drama and contrast I’m looking for. So I’m going to experiment with some methods of creating the shadow shapes hoping that one of them will be intense but still convey the idea of a tree. Also, the building is very structured in the way I drew it so i want the trees to be a bit chaotic.
the results of the various methods.
used a back loading brush with india ink. the ink faded slightly and the end result is bleh.
same brush, but the brush was a bit empty. Don’t like the faded black.
used a piece of tissue paper with acrylic ink, some microns for branches and tipex to highlight. It looks good, like a normal tree, but I don’t want a normal tree.
applied acrylic ink straight out of the bottle with the dripper.
this came close to what i was looking for. rolled the tissue a pressed hard while twisting the tip. some microns to add a bit of detail and tipex for highlights. still felt too controlled
used the dripper again, looks like nothing.
used the dripper with some tissue, love this, for smoke not a tree
no
no again
this was very close, I used my finger to get my fingerprint that I used as a hatching method and then details with microns and tipex highlights.
THIS! I created a “mop” brush with some twine. I could smack the paper, twist it, dab it… I love the energy in the marks.
the ANCHOR page
When I create a comic I have an “anchor page”. The anchor page develops from a concept that I usually get while listening to music or drawing something else. Once I get the concept I’ll create a page which is usually the most exciting page for me to draw, i start with it so it’s the most of my attention and excitement for the project. After that I ask myself ” how the hell did we get here, and what happens after this. Then I create mock ups around it to explain the story, sort of like a story board. This is going to be around page 11 if I’m not mistaken. Unfortunately, as a lecturer you get a big reveal very early that I would rather want you tee see in the correct sequence, but for assignment purposes I need to add it, I don’t think this will be the only “shock” image though… it’s all downhill from here.
