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Casspirs Full of Love

William Kentridge. Casspirs Full of Love. 1989

William Kentridge (South African, born 1955; lives Johannesburg). Casspirs Full of Love. 1989 (printed 2000). Drypoint and engraving with roulette. Plate: 58 9/16 x 32" (148.8 x 81.3 cm); sheet: 65 3/8 x 38 7/16" (166 x 97.6 cm). Publisher: the artist, Johannesburg, in conjunction with David Krut Fine Art, London. Printer: 107 Workshop, Melksham, England. Edition: 30 (17 printed 1989; 13 printed 2000). Marnie Pillsbury Fund and Roxanne H. Frank Fund, 2007. © 2011 William Kentridge

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The title of this work refers to a message sent from mother to son on a popular radio program for South African troops: “This message comes from your mother, with Casspirs full of love.” Casspirs are armored military vehicles; their name is an anagram of the abbreviations CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) and SAP (South African Police), the organizations that developed them. These vehicles, designed for international military operations, were deployed against black township communities in South Africa during states of emergency imposed by the apartheid government.