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The Battle of Rorke’s Drift

Cameron Platter. The Battle of Rorke's Drift at Club Dirty Den. 2009. John Muafangejo. The Battle of Rorke's Drift. 1981

Left: Cameron Platter (South African, born 1978; lives Shaka’s Rock, KwaZulu-Natal). The Battle of Rorke’s Drift at Club Dirty Den. 2009. Colored pencil on paper. 7' 10 1/2" x 7' 10 1/2" (240 x 240 cm). General Print Fund, 2010. © 2011 Cameron Platter. Right: John Muafangejo (Namibian, 1943–1987). The Battle of Rorke’s Drift. 1981. Linoleum cut. Composition: 17 5/8 x 27 5⁄16" (44.8 x 69.4 cm). Edition: 150. © 2011 John Muafangejo Trust

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This monumental drawing by Cameron Platter reinterprets The Battle of Rorke’s Drift (1981), a linocut by John Muafangejo (whose work appears in the linocut section of this site) depicting a key battle in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, a turning point in securing Britain’s colonial rule in South Africa. Here Platter replaces a representation of carnage between the Zulus and the British with enchantment, debauchery, and violence in a KwaZulu-Natal nightclub.