Lisa Brice's Make Your Home Your Castle was produced in 1995 and reflects the dangers of life in modern South Africa. The artwork demonstrates a South African home, adorned with cozy furnishings such as a couch and a pile of pillows. The art represents the high crime rate and omnipresent risk of physical attacks and burglaries in South Africa. Simultaneously, it references the apartheid system that helped create the danger.

Make Your Home Your Castle separates the world into two parts: the safe interior and the dangerous exterior, much like apartheid. On the windows of the household setting are the phrases" RELAX", which is pointing inwards, and "VOETSAK," facing outwards. This sends a mixed messageÑwealthy white South Africans try to live a safe and relaxed life inside their houses, while black South Africans are told to "bug off" in Afrikaans. The welcome mat, as well as some of the pillows, contain the term "ALARM ON?Ó serving as reminder to fortify the home from the dangers of the outside. Another pillow reads FLYING SQUAD 10111, referring to the emergency dispatch phone number in South Africa. This would be analogous to the phrase Emergency 911 to an American. This pillow is a reminder that security is a concern in all places of the house. A final pillow contains the phrase TRELLIDOR LOCKED? Another reflection of the danger outside, the pillow refers to the extra secure doors or windows made by a company called Trellidor.

The final decoration of the piece is a metal plaque with the phrase "HOME SAFE HOME," with the "S" on "SAFE" missing. Even within the safety of the house, the decor, like many parts of South African society, needs repair.

SEE ALSO: Abby Orenstein on Brice's relevance to American society

Make Your Home Your Castle. Lisa Brice. (1995)