Tender loving care, 2026
Blueprint, Edition 2 of 30
69,5 cm x 99,5 cm
Artist’s Statement
Tender loving care explores the hidden structures of public procurement in South Africa, drawing on the public controversy surrounding the Vusi “Cat” Matlala case as a point of departure. Using the visual language of technical drawing, the work examines how systems designed to ensure transparency can become associated with complexity, privilege, and corruption
The cyanotype process, historically used to reproduce engineering blueprints, serves as a metaphor for the underlying systems and designs that shape the tender process. The images and symbols create a visual narrative about power, wealth, and access.
The BMW M5 known for its use in the “blue light brigade” references the visible display of wealth often linked, in the public imagination, to tender and governmental scandals. The pig draws on its history as a political symbol of greed, excess and unfairness, pointing to the pursuit of personal gain within systems intended to serve the public good. The pictograms that explain the process are connected with a maze highlighting the concealed nature of these dealings
By presenting these elements as components within a blueprint, the work suggests that corruption extends beyond individual actions and is connected to broader institutional structures. The blueprint invites viewers to read the image as a plan that can be decoded, exposing relationships between governance, money, and influence.
Through symbolism and satire, the work questions how public trust is negotiated within bureaucratic systems and asks what remains concealed beneath the official frameworks of accountability and transparency.
