Rooivlerkiefees
Sculpture, Festival, Citizen Science, Documentary Film
“Rooiflerkiefees hopes to facilitate a deeper relationship between farmers, workers and school groups, and the Sonderend River.”
— Kate Snaddon, Freshwater Research Centre
High up in the Hottentots Holland
there is a river snaking through rugged gorges and mountain peaks.
The Sonderend River is an important tributary to Theewaterskloof Dam - Cape Town City’s largest and most critical water supply.
The river - and its floodplain - are home to a remarkable array of freshwater life, including a newly discovered fish, the giant redfin. The river also services a booming agricultural industry of orchards and vineyards, which supports local communities such as Vyeboom.
Unfortunately, with increasing pressures from farming and invasive species, the health of the river and its communities at risk. In 2018, the Freshwater Research Centre launched a project to raise awareness in the valley, which included river snorkeling, citizen science and sculpture-building. The project culminated in the ‘rooiflerkiefees’ - festival of the redfin - in celebration of freshwater life and the newly discovered Giant Redfin Minnow, and its aquatic environment.
The Giant Redfin Minnow
Endangered
“They live only in three streams on the planet, that’s something worth celebrating and protecting.”
— Chip Snaddon, Artist
Sculpture
Giant Redfins
In collaboration with Chip Snaddon, Artist
Chip spend 2019 conceptualising and rolling out a project that used art to unite a rural community in celebrating the Sonderend River and its fascinating freshwater life. He sourced materials from invasive black wattles and blackwoods on the banks of Theewaterskloof Dam - invasive trees that have a big impact on water quantity and quality in South Africa. Then, from his base at Moreson Farm, begun the process of building the biggest fynbos fish sculptures the world has ever seen. The build was inclusive from the start, bringing in community members from farmers to school kids to co-create a visual representation of the Giant Redfin Minnows that swim beneath the surface of the Sonderend River. Today, the sculptures stand tall on the banks of the river, reminding us that healthy rivers are critical for healthy people and the freshwater life that lives beneath the surface.
Festival
Rooiflerkiefees
In collaboration with Freshwater Research Centre, Shine Development Project and Moreson Farm
The Festival of the Redfin was a wonderful celebration of freshwater life, where the Vyeboom community gathered on the banks of the Sonderend to honour the clean water it brings and the magnificent giant redfin minnows that live there. The festival brought together a diversity of community groups including farmers, school children, farm workers and scientists, all coming together to co-create and install the sculptures, and have fun while doing so. There was music, dance, art and food on offer - a coming together of a diverse community not to be forgotten.
Documentary Film
Water Mountain
Directed by Jeremy Shelton
Water Mountain is a story about the Sonderend River, the people of the Vyeboom Valley, and how art has the power to bring them closer. The film follows the journey of Cape Town-based artist Chip Snaddon, as he immerses in the Vyeboom community to conceptualize, co-create and install a sculpture of two giant redfin minnows on the banks of the mighty Sonderend river. The message ‘the river needs us just as much as we need it’ is at the heart of the story in the hope to share it with other catchments in South Africa.
