press release
Newcastle, UK - August 8, 2025 - Today marks the opening of “Bloedgrond”, a powerful and evocative art exhibition by South African artist Frank Pretorius at the Hatton Gallery, Newcastle University. The exhibition runs from today, August 8, 2025, until 30 August, and explores the deep scars of generational trauma left by the Second Boer War (1899–1902).
Bloedgrond, an Afrikaans term meaning “Land of Blood,” is a compelling tribute to the resilience and suffering of the Boer women and children who endured unimaginable atrocities during the war. The exhibition features a series of oil paintings, created as part of Pretorius' master’s exhibition, that vividly portray the devastation and courage experienced by these victims.
Through his art, Pretorius aims to reckon with the haunting history of the war, particularly the violent strategy employed by the British colonial forces, which involved the destruction of farms, crops, and homes, and the forced internment of women and children in concentration camps. Approximately 28,000 Boer civilians perished in these camps, the vast majority of them women and children.
As Pretorius reflects in his artist’s statement: "The South African war, or the Boer War, which was waged from 1899 to 1902, left deep scars of generational trauma on its people, etching stories of loss and resilience into the fabric of our history. As a child, I was captivated by the tales of this conflict passed down through my family. These narratives, vivid and haunting, sparked my earliest drawings, imprinting themselves in my imagination. For my master's exhibition, I've revived these memories, transforming them into a series of oil paintings. This body of work explores the duality of destruction and preservation, reflecting on what we choose to carry forward after trauma. Each painting is both a reckoning with the past and a tribute to the enduring spirit of those who lived it."
Pretorius, who hails from South Africa, draws inspiration from the memoirs of Emily Hobhouse, a British social reformer who risked her safety to expose the brutal conditions in these camps to the British public. Hobhouse’s tireless campaigning shone a light on the atrocities being committed in the name of the British Empire, a truth that had long been hidden from public view. The artwork presented in Bloedgrond serves as a sobering reminder of colonial brutality, and of the moral vacuum that grows in wars waged away from the public eye.
Through this exhibition, Pretorius especially honours Hobhouse’s legacy and gives voice to the countless women and children whose suffering was ignored, dismissed, or forgotten by history.
Pretorius acknowledges the profound impact of this trauma on the Afrikaner community. As he explains, "This exhibition is a tribute to the strength of these women. It is about recognising the enormity of their suffering and the extent of our loss, but also acknowledging the rise from those ashes."
Pretorius plans to bring Bloedgrond to South Africa later in the year, allowing his fellow countrymen to reconnect with their painful past in an effort to remember what was lost, to celebrate what was restored, and ultimately, to heal.
The exhibition will be on display at the Hatton Gallery, Newcastle University, from August 8, 2025, and is free to attend. For more information, visit the Hatton Gallery website or contact the gallery directly.
Bloedgrond, an Afrikaans term meaning “Land of Blood,” is a compelling tribute to the resilience and suffering of the Boer women and children who endured unimaginable atrocities during the war. The exhibition features a series of oil paintings, created as part of Pretorius' master’s exhibition, that vividly portray the devastation and courage experienced by these victims.
Through his art, Pretorius aims to reckon with the haunting history of the war, particularly the violent strategy employed by the British colonial forces, which involved the destruction of farms, crops, and homes, and the forced internment of women and children in concentration camps. Approximately 28,000 Boer civilians perished in these camps, the vast majority of them women and children.
As Pretorius reflects in his artist’s statement: "The South African war, or the Boer War, which was waged from 1899 to 1902, left deep scars of generational trauma on its people, etching stories of loss and resilience into the fabric of our history. As a child, I was captivated by the tales of this conflict passed down through my family. These narratives, vivid and haunting, sparked my earliest drawings, imprinting themselves in my imagination. For my master's exhibition, I've revived these memories, transforming them into a series of oil paintings. This body of work explores the duality of destruction and preservation, reflecting on what we choose to carry forward after trauma. Each painting is both a reckoning with the past and a tribute to the enduring spirit of those who lived it."
Pretorius, who hails from South Africa, draws inspiration from the memoirs of Emily Hobhouse, a British social reformer who risked her safety to expose the brutal conditions in these camps to the British public. Hobhouse’s tireless campaigning shone a light on the atrocities being committed in the name of the British Empire, a truth that had long been hidden from public view. The artwork presented in Bloedgrond serves as a sobering reminder of colonial brutality, and of the moral vacuum that grows in wars waged away from the public eye.
Through this exhibition, Pretorius especially honours Hobhouse’s legacy and gives voice to the countless women and children whose suffering was ignored, dismissed, or forgotten by history.
Pretorius acknowledges the profound impact of this trauma on the Afrikaner community. As he explains, "This exhibition is a tribute to the strength of these women. It is about recognising the enormity of their suffering and the extent of our loss, but also acknowledging the rise from those ashes."
Pretorius plans to bring Bloedgrond to South Africa later in the year, allowing his fellow countrymen to reconnect with their painful past in an effort to remember what was lost, to celebrate what was restored, and ultimately, to heal.
The exhibition will be on display at the Hatton Gallery, Newcastle University, from August 8, 2025, and is free to attend. For more information, visit the Hatton Gallery website or contact the gallery directly.
A SELECTION OF QUOTES FROM EMILY HOBHOUSE AND THE BRITISH CONCENTRATION CAMP SCANDAL
Lord Hugh Cecil, June 26. “Now there are three stages in this business: devastation, deportation, and detention. The war is terribly costly and tedious, it is whispered; let us finish it as best we can, and not ask too many questions about the means. Even the mortality in Concentration Camps may (under Providence) have its use, by convincing the Boers of the futility of further resistance.”
Emily Hobhouse “Never before have women and children been so warred against England. She has placed her seal upon an odious system. Is it to be a precedent for future wars, or is it to be denounced not merely by one party, but by every humane person of every creed and every tongue, denounced as a 'method of barbarism' which must never be resorted to again - the whole cruel sequence of the burning, the eviction, the rendering destitute, the deporting, and finally the concentrating of the non-combatants of the country, with no previous preparation for their sustenance. It ought to become a fixed principle with the English people that no general acting in their name should ever again resort to measures of such a nature.”
Comments from various women, as told to Emily:
"Those women in the camp who had been there for some time, and were acquainted with all the horrors, brought us bread and coffee now and again. Some of them had been treated in the same way, and some even more inhumanly. As for the camp life, it is, in a word, 'slow starvation and defilement'."
"It has happened that mothers with small children have had to wait three days before being able to speak to the doctor; and when at last their turn came, simply were told to go away, for “Did they not know all children under the age of five must die?"
"Then she went almost frantic, fell down on her knees before the officer, and took hold of his hands, and cried: 'Oh, look at your soldiers carrying out my beautiful furniture. See what they are doing. For they had made a big fire, and were heaping on to it her pillows and feather beds; and out of the house the soldiers came running carrying her silver candlesticks, and all sorts of things - tables, chairs, clocks, etc. 'What are you doing?" she cried out; 'What are you doing with my things?' 'Oh! we are just taking away with us the things we want, was the answer. They broke up the stove, they broke her husband's beautiful carpenter's shop, they smashed his ploughs and machinery brought lately from America, even down to the spades. The light furniture, also from America, the soldiers went on smashing before her very eyes."
"There was nothing but the bare ground to sleep upon. The house had been seized for the use of Colonel Williams and his staff, and there was no room for anyone else. The women made a sort of camp out on he veld, trying to shelter near the wagons, but the snow was falling, the wind bitter cold, and the children were crying with misery."
"We were not even allowed to take some blankets and clothes with us for ourselves and our children. Everything was thrown into the flames. The clothes of our men were taken away for the British troops. In some cases even the children were left naked. In this condition we stood under the open sky, without shelter, without food, exposed to the rain, the cold, or burning heat."
"The women knelt before the natives and begged for mercy but they were roughly shaken off and had to endure even more impudent language and rude behavior. Their clothes were even torn from their bodies and in some cases they had to suffer a harder lot still."
"The mothers were taken away from their children. The very small children were left behind because some were ill in bed. The mothers were not even allowed to take leave of their dear treasures. When they begged the soldiers to take pity on their children their reply was “Get along, they must all come to an end.”
Closing comment from the artist:
Approximately 26,000 to 28,000 Boers died in the camps, with the majority being women and children. Death rates: At their peak (October 1901), the annual death rate in Boer camps reached 344 per 1,000. To provide context, during the entire Second World War, around 15,000 women and 5,000 children died in the UK due to air raids and other wartime impacts. This comparison highlights the devastating scale and severity of the loss of life in the British concentration camps.
Emily Hobhouse “Never before have women and children been so warred against England. She has placed her seal upon an odious system. Is it to be a precedent for future wars, or is it to be denounced not merely by one party, but by every humane person of every creed and every tongue, denounced as a 'method of barbarism' which must never be resorted to again - the whole cruel sequence of the burning, the eviction, the rendering destitute, the deporting, and finally the concentrating of the non-combatants of the country, with no previous preparation for their sustenance. It ought to become a fixed principle with the English people that no general acting in their name should ever again resort to measures of such a nature.”
Comments from various women, as told to Emily:
"Those women in the camp who had been there for some time, and were acquainted with all the horrors, brought us bread and coffee now and again. Some of them had been treated in the same way, and some even more inhumanly. As for the camp life, it is, in a word, 'slow starvation and defilement'."
"It has happened that mothers with small children have had to wait three days before being able to speak to the doctor; and when at last their turn came, simply were told to go away, for “Did they not know all children under the age of five must die?"
"Then she went almost frantic, fell down on her knees before the officer, and took hold of his hands, and cried: 'Oh, look at your soldiers carrying out my beautiful furniture. See what they are doing. For they had made a big fire, and were heaping on to it her pillows and feather beds; and out of the house the soldiers came running carrying her silver candlesticks, and all sorts of things - tables, chairs, clocks, etc. 'What are you doing?" she cried out; 'What are you doing with my things?' 'Oh! we are just taking away with us the things we want, was the answer. They broke up the stove, they broke her husband's beautiful carpenter's shop, they smashed his ploughs and machinery brought lately from America, even down to the spades. The light furniture, also from America, the soldiers went on smashing before her very eyes."
"There was nothing but the bare ground to sleep upon. The house had been seized for the use of Colonel Williams and his staff, and there was no room for anyone else. The women made a sort of camp out on he veld, trying to shelter near the wagons, but the snow was falling, the wind bitter cold, and the children were crying with misery."
"We were not even allowed to take some blankets and clothes with us for ourselves and our children. Everything was thrown into the flames. The clothes of our men were taken away for the British troops. In some cases even the children were left naked. In this condition we stood under the open sky, without shelter, without food, exposed to the rain, the cold, or burning heat."
"The women knelt before the natives and begged for mercy but they were roughly shaken off and had to endure even more impudent language and rude behavior. Their clothes were even torn from their bodies and in some cases they had to suffer a harder lot still."
"The mothers were taken away from their children. The very small children were left behind because some were ill in bed. The mothers were not even allowed to take leave of their dear treasures. When they begged the soldiers to take pity on their children their reply was “Get along, they must all come to an end.”
Closing comment from the artist:
Approximately 26,000 to 28,000 Boers died in the camps, with the majority being women and children. Death rates: At their peak (October 1901), the annual death rate in Boer camps reached 344 per 1,000. To provide context, during the entire Second World War, around 15,000 women and 5,000 children died in the UK due to air raids and other wartime impacts. This comparison highlights the devastating scale and severity of the loss of life in the British concentration camps.
