STERKFONTEIN CAVES, (FROM SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE, 1957) JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG

tommaso fiscaletti May 10, 2020

‘The time: Just before the end of the 20th century, just after the first human feet touched the moon and Mars.
The place: Somewhere in the Southwest Karoo on the highest level of the big empty table land where the world's largest observatory has been standing since the first human generation… This whole complex of highly specialized activities is known as Saakni, the South —African Cosmic Research Institute, a secret, forbidden world, set apart by a twenty-kilometer-wide buffer strip, guards and laser beams.’

Photograph inspired by ‘Swart ster oor die Karoo’ (Black star over the Karoo) by Jan Rabie, 1957. the Saankni institute is underground, and becomes a safe haven for humans after the Earth stops turning and the surface becoms unbearably cold.

STIPAGROSTIS OBTUSA (DELILE) NEES # 1, BETWEEN CALVINIA AND WILINSTON, NORTHERN CAPE

tommaso fiscaletti May 10, 2020

STIPAGROSTIS OBTUSA (DELILE) NEES # 3, BETWEEN CALVINIA AND WILINSTON, NORTHERN CAPE_6472-04.jpg

VOLCANO #3, SALPETERKOP, NORTHERN CAPE

tommaso fiscaletti January 17, 2020

Salpeterkop (Saltpetre Hill) was an active volcano around 66 million years ago – estimated as the last one in Southern Africa. It is interesting to note that about 2 km of its original height has been eroded down, so we are seeing at a level 'deep in the throat of the volcano'. The remains of this volcano is visible from the SALT (South African Large Telescope) site near Sutherland.

AUSTRALOPITHECUS AFRICANUS, STERKFONTEIN CAVES, THE CRADLE OF HUMANKIND, GAUTENG

tommaso fiscaletti January 17, 2020

Deep in the Sterkfontein caves some of the remains of our early ancestors have been kept safe from the elements on the surface.

IBART JANSE VEN RENSBURG, SALPETERKOP, NORTHERN CAPE

tommaso fiscaletti January 16, 2020

EVA STELLARIS (FROM "SWART STER OOR DIE KAROO, JAN RABIE 1957). DR. LUNA PELLEGRI, ITHEMBA LABS, CAPE TOWN

nic@nic.co.za July 8, 2019

Vir die eerste maal kyk sy op, haar blik reguit en eerlik, maar haar stem treurig: “My opdrag was slegs en spesifiek die biologiese en hidroponiese werk wat ek hier in Saakni gedoen het. Asseblief, u beskik oor my lewe, maar nie oor my woorde nie."

For the first time, she looks up, her gaze straight and honest, her voice sad: “My assignment was only and specifically the biological and hydroponic work I did here in Saakni. Please, you have the power over my life, but not my words."

From ‘Swart ster oor die Karoo’ (Black star over the Karoo) by Jan Rabie, 1957.
Eva Stellaris was sent as a helper from the future. Part of her command involved only answering in a way that complements the knowledge that already exists and not help directly, “that man should, after all, help himself.”

YSTERRANTE # 1 (NEAR THREE SISTERS) NORTHERN CAPE

tommaso fiscaletti December 20, 2017

KNERSVLAKTE (GNASHING PLAIN) # 1, NORTHERN CAPE

tommaso fiscaletti December 19, 2017

‘Knersvlakte’, literally translated from Afrikaans means “gnashing plain”. The name is said to originate from the crunching sound made by contact with the white, quartz-rich gravel. The quartz also reflects the sunlight, which makes the rocks and soil cooler in temperature than surrounding areas. This unique condition has allowed a large number of endemic plants to proliferate - many of these are small succulents that can absorb heat during the long and dry summers.

BETWEEN CALVINIA AND CLANWILLIAM # 2, NORTHERN CAPE

tommaso fiscaletti December 19, 2017

SUTHERLAND, (THE ROAD TO THE SAAO OBSERVATORY), NORTHERN CAPE

tommaso fiscaletti December 19, 2017

TRUITJIESKRAAL CAVES # 4, CEDERBERG

tommaso fiscaletti December 19, 2017

STADSAAL CAVES # 1, CEDERBERG

tommaso fiscaletti December 18, 2017

NICO SMIT, SCI-FI WRITER, CLANWILLIAM, WESTERN CAPE

tommaso fiscaletti December 18, 2017

‘The half blood is not accepted by anyone, he is not ethnic enough for his own group and not good enough for the group he is descended from. So both groups reject him, but he posesses the skills and knowledge of both groups - the strong characteristics of both groups is combined within him. Even though he is initially rejected by the modern group and the historical native group, at the end of the day he unites them - he is the glue that keeps them together. He is the connection or the missing link between them and the two groups then fight together against what you can call the evil side - the bad guys in the story. With him as the leader figure. In the beginning the natives from the planet Kazdan, the Hunters didn't trust the Neanites who were technologically advanced - almost seen as gods. Like it was in the past when the white man landed in the Cape - everybody thought it was amazing and at the end of the day it wasn't that amazing and there is a golden middle groud to be followed and somebody has to take the lead - that is the half blood that brings the groups together. That is the initiating concept of my sci-fi story.’

Nico Smit, Sci-Fi Writer, Clanwilliam

BLACK ROCKS # 3, BETWEEN CALVINIA AND WILLISTON, NORTHERN CAPE

tommaso fiscaletti December 18, 2017

These rocks contain a high percentage of iron and their dark appearance forms a truly ancient landscape. The rocks make a metal sound when played; they are referred to with different names such as ‘rock gongs’, ‘ringing rocks’ or even ‘bushman pianos’. Found in various areas around the world and Africa, tradition formed around communicating with the help of the rocks - evident by the ancient drumming marks often found on them.