It's Cold Outside (2004)

The title Koeëlwas is a play on the Afrikaans word Koeëlvas, meaning bullet proof. Koeëlwas means bullet wax. The installation comprises of a black and white TV monitor plus VCR, stand, a bullet proof jacket made of plastic, a child's shirt and dress made of plastic, two small plastic cases, a plastic video case with a light, all filled with wax bullets.

Watching images on a TV screen is a universal communication experience, through which we share a second hand experience of war and violence in the safe places of our living rooms, without the bullets leaving the screen and entering real space.

The screen acts like a bulletproof vest preventing the bullets from causing real damage while we can have share in the experience. Like the wax bullets, that can melt and be transformed, these shared "experiences" on screen hit on a psychological level and leaves scars.

In the installation "Koeëlwas", the viewer can see through the plastic clothes (bullet proof vest, dress and shirt) to have a view of the wax bullets with which these items are filled, suggesting the exposure of children to war, violence and its effects.

The white binding with which the children's clothes are finished off suggests the white chalk markings with which police indicate the position of corpses on the scene of a crime. The plastic "containers" of the wax bullets (vest and children's clothes) act like plastic forensic bags in which "evidence" is sealed off. On the video monitor, the image of a hand holding a gun, firing shots, repeatedly, is visible. A plastic video case with wax bullets, lit from behind to emphasize the transparent qualities of the wax, can also be seen. More than accidentally caught in crossfire.