The Runde River Rapids

The Runde River Rapids is an embroidery and hand appliqué art work on hessian. The embroidery is done using a digital embroidery machine. Hessian is grown and made in Zimbabwe where the Runde River cuts across the southern part of the country and is used to make sacks for export of agricultural products. It is a vast river which runs through the Gonarezhou National Park, an area that was once the scene of a vicious liberation war followed by a time of rampant poaching leaving the land and animals scared. It is now a conservation area where in this time of peace the landscape and the animals are once again safe and is an example of how places on earth can be rejuvenated and returned to their natural awe inspiring origins. It is this place that inspired this work.