Carlo Petersen
RENOWNED graffiti artist Falko went back to his art roots recently – spending time with the world’s original graffiti artists – the San of the Kalahari.
Craig “Falko” Cupido has been creating street art in rural towns, villages and informal settlements over the past few months for a “Once Upon A Town” project. His mission is “to change the locals’ perception of value”.
Falko said he was returning from Mpumalanga and stopped in the Northern Cape village of Witdraai in the Kalahari Desert. “I made the call to the bosses and the pitch was that I want to visit one of the places where rock art originated. With me doing street art, I wanted to make the link and everybody was like let’s go,” Falko said.
Falko, 43, grew up in Mitchells Plain and makes a living as an international street artist, spray painting murals all over the country and the world. He recently worked in Singapore, Dubai and Europe.
When he and his team, sponsored by Red Bull, arrived in Witdraai, Falko immediately tried to gain the respect of the elders.
“It’s a very sensitive thing, but it’s weird because they actually take offence to being treated with kid gloves. They want honesty and to be told like it is. They told me they are Bushmen and I am Khoi. It was a heavy experience being around them and it made my heart swell because I was never really drawn to the ancient culture,” he said.
Elder Dawid Am-Am Kruiper and Falko collaborated on a wall piece; Kruiper used clay and Falko used spray paint. The result was a San man with outstretched arms painted by Falko and, on either side of the man, Kruiper used clay to draw a San hunting scene and a ceremonial scene.
Falko’s work is normally very intricate, abstract and colourful, this piece he said was filled with simplicity. “It was a depiction of the way San people live,” he said.
“I was totally inspired, but the sad observation I made is that rock art is being lost.
“They are doing it for tourists on ostrich eggs and selling it at cheap prices. The thing is when (you) do things for money there’s a lot of passion that gets lost there.
“I feel that they should be getting more.
Their stuff should be selling for thousands of rand in our galleries. I mean it’s an original ancient art,” he said.
Khoi and San heritage expert Ron Martin echoed Falko’s sentiments.
“The practice is dying, but it is an ancient cultural practice so we must make sure it gets taught to the next generation. The problem is San rock art loses value when it’s not done on heritage sites. The sites are sacred. So when the art is replicated there is little value.”
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