An avid etcher, Kentridge occasionally experiments with the technique of linocut. Here he employed the medium's stark formal qualities and its potential for mesmerizing patterning in the service of his work in the theater, which at the time involved large-scale props and the processional movement of life-size figures; characters that both carry their possessions and morph into them and their environment. The work calls to mind both antiapartheid marchers and uprooted communities.

Gallery label from

Impressions from South Africa, 1965 to Now.

Gallery label from William Kentridge: Five Themes , February 24–May 17, 2010.

In collaboration with a specialized printmaking workshop, Kentridge created this monumental linoleum cut using a large panel of linoleum flooring. Because it is inexpensive and easy to print, linoleum is used widely in community–based printmaking workshops in South Africa. Expressive black-and-white patterning is characteristic of the medium.

Medium Linoleum cut
Dimensions composition: 95 1/2 x 38 1/2" (242.6 x 97.8 cm); sheet: 98 1/2 x 38 1/2" (250.2 x 97.8 cm)
Publisher David Krut Fine Art, London and Johannesburg
Printer Artist Proof Studio, Johannesburg
Edition 25
Credit Jacqueline Brody Fund
Object number 602.2008
Department Drawings and Prints

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