In vlamme/In flames

Alet Pretorius’ photographic work  In vlamme/In flames (2018) captures a powerful moment of enacted displacement. Figures clad in notorious crimson uniforms lay waste to deconstructed dwellings. The rising heat of a burn pile distorts the picture with a painterly effect. A corrugated zinc panel is hoisted up to a smokey sky before making a slow descent to ash. 

Pretorius describes the context of the work, “The Red Ants [are seen] destroying several illegally erected structures on a farm near Soshanguve on September 11, 2018, in Tshwane, South Africa. The farm owners from Limpopo, Dr Motodi Samuel Maserumule and his business partners‚ Diphethe Bopape and Kgosi Letsi Phaahla obtained an eviction order from the High Court. Occupiers allege that they were not given an eviction notice and vowed to rebuild their structures”