This essay was originally created as part of my participation in ‘A Fragile Correspondence’ residency hosted by The V&A Dundee, and The YPC during February 2025.

This project forms the second part of my ongoing Beyond Barbarians series, expanding on themes I previously explored during my residency at the V&A’s Fragile Correspondence exhibition. While my initial work focused on the preservation of the Scottish landscape and its intrinsic connection to language, this next phase takes a broader approach—investigating the shared connections between Indigenous communities and their relationship to land.

What happens when land is no longer a place you can touch—but a memory, a struggle, a story passed down in fragments? This critical statment is a reflection of my development of Beyond Barbarians II, situating the project within a wider context.

Part Three is a reflection on the layered experience of being South African, particularly when living abroad. It explores the tensions between legal nationality, cultural heritage, and the often misplaced assumptions faced in diaspora spaces. Through humour and lived experience, it questions what it means to belong when your identity is read through the lens of a country you’ve never known.