Congratulations to Frances van Hasselt on her participation in the Investec Cape Town Art Fair at Viviers Studio, curated by the extraordinary Lidewij Edelkoort, Philip Fimmano and Viviers Studio.
We are so proud to see new works, born from the hands of Josephine Benyera, Annie Mtonga, Mary Gumbo, Monique Bitterbos and Nika Skeffers, finding their place among such a remarkable collection of creative voices.
‘You Are Most Welcome’ is one of my personal favorite works and stories:
Somewhere on the road from Leeu-Gamka to Gamkaskloof you need to stop and find the rest room. A dire stand-alone gas station flickers into view. You stop, because your tyres need checking and well, you are desperate. You turn off your car, the aircon stops and your serious podcast on some distant story unceremoniously cuts. You open the door and step out into the assault of February in the Karoo. Heatwaves lick the N1 and you step-on-it to get to the cool of the loo. Radio Sonder Grense plays something about a church bazaar in Willowmore next Sunday.
The bathroom is empty besides for a plastic bucket of water in the corner. Someone must be here. The loo is clean. You wash your hands. The cold water is shockingly hot. You get a fright and look around to see if anyone saw or heard your pathetic shriek. There is nothing but a hand painted sign on the tiled wall behind you; ‘You Are Most Welcome’. Somehow you know you are being watched.
You return to your car slightly unnerved. Your windscreen has been washed, but there is no one in sight. You get in and decide to keep the podcast off. The message from the toilet seems to have said more than whoever you had previously been listening to.”
March 27, 2026
