

In 1760 the discovery of a letter written by a Buginese slave in Stellenbosch triggered a wave of paranoia within the Cape colony. Colonial authorities mistakenly believed this obscure text to be proof of a slave rebellion, prompting its immediate and ruthless pacification. The Boogeyman references the historic circumstances surrounding the letter within a contemporary context on Spier wine farm. It illuminates deep seated fears within the capitalist institutional psyche regarding its ongoing dependence on colonial labour models for profit.
Charles Palm is a visual and sound artist based in the Western Cape village of Pniël. With a family heritage tightly woven into the labour that facilitated Dutch East India Company's settlement in the Cape and early diamond mining in the Northern Cape, his work references questions about social and institutional constructs and its effects on human growth and development. With an early career in architectural design and natural building technologies, his projects often take on an immersive quality in the form of large scale installations using found objects or creative interactions with existing structures and monuments.