Dumile Feni (b. 1942, Worcester, South Africa)

Railway Accident

1966, conté crayon on paper, 107 x 237 cm.

Iziko South African National Gallery. Photo courtesy of Iziko South African National Gallery. ©Dumile Feni Family Trust 2021.

In the aftermath of a railway accident. bodies are flung all over the page, their limbs and faces contorted in pain. They are framed by the ominous train hovering above, all wheels and bent doors, and the mess of the broken railway tracks below. It is all so chaotic, it leaves us wondering, is this a real scene or is it a nightmare?

READ ABOUT THE BACKGROUND HERE…

Feni is using expressionist artmaking techniques to convey the feeling of a railway accident, rather than depicting it realistically. Expressionism is an art movement where artists distort reality to show the feelings and suffering of others. With this in mind, perhaps this artwork is not depicting an actual railway accident - perhaps Feni is using expressionist techniques so that we can feel the confusion, chaos and pain of people living in apartheid South Africa at that time.