ONE WOMAN'S VISION

In this obscure Karoo town, Nieu-Bethesda, there lived a reclusive artist, Helen Martins. Over a twelve-year period, she worked with Koos Malgas [a local sheepshearer] to create a breathtaking display of works from concrete and hand-ground glass. Martins committed suicide in 1976, after which Malgas disappeared into obscurity until he was recently re-discovered by Cape Town artist Beezy Bailey.

The bizarre and compelling works remain in the Camel Yard of the Owl House to this day and have become something of a local tourist attraction, affording Martins, in death, a fame and respect that she could never have dreamed of while alive.

Drawn not only from Christian, but also Eastern religious icons, all the figures in the Camel Yard face east. This feature inspired the title of Athol Fugard's play The Road to Mecca, which tells the sad story of the visionary artist who was shunned by her community.