The Politics and Poetics of the Bushman Diorama at the South African Museum

This paper outlines the interplay of politics and poetics in relation to the history of the iconic ‘Bushman’ diorama at the South African Museum, now part of Iziko Museums of South Africa. From 1960 to 2001 the diorama, representing a hunter-gatherer encampment in the Karoo, was on public view and during this time responses to the display changed, as did the wider political context of South Africa and the conceptual context of museology. After prolonged controversy, in 2001 the diorama was closed to the public, pending possible rethinking and reopening. The diorama, however, remained closed. The conceptual and political shifts that underpinned the ascendance and decline of the diorama are traced, focusing attention on power-relations and ethics, while also discussing aesthetic resonance. Ironically, the closed diorama remains open to intellectual and creative engagement. As an archive, it has current relevance for museum studies.