The Fyvie postcard project
The Fyvie postcard project is a collaborative
work, drawing on the memories of people
who knew the Fyvies of Fyvie Farm, Estcourt: Temple
Lascelles and Alice Isabel Fyvie, and their eleven children.
I created postcards for
each member of this family and asked anyone who had a memory
of them to record it on the back of the applicable postcard,
to be posted back to me. There were several reasons for
choosing postcards: firstly, I wanted a medium that was
also visual (as I hope
they will eventually form part
of an art exhibition); secondly, I hoped the limited space
would put less pressure on participants who might otherwise
feel they had to write down lengthy memories; finally,
many of the old photographs from collection from which
the postcards were taken, were themselves printed as postcards – a
practice which seemed to be much more common then than
it is now.
To read memories of the farm and
family, use the images below |
|
|
|
Having attempted an impartial introduction,
I must confess to having a vested interest in the project,
for Fyvie Farm was an enduring and intimate part of my
childhood. One of my earliest memories is of arriving at
the farm after we left Zimbabwe for South Africa in 1980,
and waiting on the back verandah in the afternoon
sun as our boxes of belongings were unpacked onto the back
lawn. I also remember walking through the house for the
first time, through the lounge, which had long heavy curtains
hiding the doors that opened out onto the front verandah,
the tennis court, and the view over the dam, so that the
room was almost dark, in spite of it still being light
outside. I remember the day we
started packing to leave the farm, nearly ten years later;
the many journeys (with tractor and trailer, under a very
clear winter sky) that we made with our belongings between
the farm and my grandmother's home, and the very last trip,
late at night when the farmhouse was finally empty, to
fetch my cats. Tabs and Jenny, who have also written their
memories of Fyvie, might remember how many times I had
to go back to fetch those cats, who evidently preferred
Fyvie
to their new home!
Perhaps I am drawn to this project because the farm, which
was so familiar to me, also forms a backdrop to the many
Fyvie snapshots which date back to the beginning of the
last century. These old photographs, which survived the
intervening years in the attic in leather suitcases, span
the decades during which the Fyvie children were growing
up,
and provide
a disjointed narrative including fancy dress, tennis, weddings,
cattle, and farming documentary. I have often wondered
who the person behind the camera was, and will in all likelihood
never know. While my grandmother (and youngest of the family)
was still alive, I often discussed the photographs with
her, but seldom recorded our conversations. With hindsight,
I wish I had. Photographs give the illusions of preserving
history, when in fact they preserve nothing more than an
image. It is the stories and memories behind the photographs
that give them their meaning. I hope this project will
capture some of those stories.
Thank you to
everyone who has taken part - I am so grateful for the
time taken to write on the postcards and return them. This
project would have been nothing without you!
|