Mass extinction events have far-reaching effects on Earth’s ecosystems. Understanding their effects on biodiversity is critical for understanding how organisms adapt to changing environments and how these adaptations play a role in the evolution of new species and traits after the extinction. Studies on past ecosystems have shown that changes in diversity, body shape, abundance, and/or resource availability may determine the success of a certain group during these events.
The sixteenth of December is a day steeped in significance. It has been named, claimed and also retrospectively framed. During various moments of history this day has commemorated anguished battles and victories, based on the dominant perspective.
An exhibition curated from the Oliewenhuis Art Museum’s Permanent Collection and ArtbankSA’s collection curated by Yolanda de Kock. The exhibition opened on 25 November 2021 in the Main Building, Oliewenhuis Art Museum.
As part of an investigation into the relationships of the crag lizards (genus Pseudocordylus), Dr Michael Bates and Mr Edgar Mohapi of the Department of Animal and Plant Systematics conducted several collecting expeditions in South Africa. Tissue samples from the specimens were used in genetic analyses to gain insight into the evolutionary relationships between the different populations. Several years later I was asked to assist with this project by expanding on the genetic analysis.
Culture is not fixed. It ebbs and flows from one generation to the next. Our ancestors and elders bequeath to us gifts of knowledge and embodied knowing. Yet sometimes we forget. When the rituals that contain and connect us are lost we become untethered from our communities and unable to contain the depth of wisdom acquired before us.