2004
 
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SKOOB RETURN TO ARTWORK LISTING

Medium/size/format: Painted stones, wood, 107 Full Bibles, 35 New Testaments,1 Pentateuch/Haftaroth, 10 Qur'ans, 1 Book of Psalms, 9 Platforms, each 1600mm (length) x 900mm (width) x 75mm (height)
Exhibition History: 1. 2004 05 22 - 2004 06 19 Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg.
2. 2007 03 24 - 2004 05 02 Cape 07, US Art Gallery, Stellenbosch.
SKOOB (reversal of 'books') - A pile of books assembled in order to be destroyed as a gesture against the proliferation and undue generation of the printed word; the ceremonial burning of books. Oxford English Dictionary

Katja Gentric and Willem Boshoff

 

The skoobed texts are: the law of Moses (Exodus 20:1-18) and Christ's declaration in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:43-48). The text from the Qur'an is called the 'heart of the Qur'an' (Surah Yaseen)

Exodus 20:1-18
1. And God spake all these words saying:
2. I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6. And shewing mercy under thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work;
10. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
13. Thou shalt not kill.
14. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15. Thou shalt not steal.
16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
18. And all the people saw the thunderings and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

Matthew 5: 43-48

The Qur'an
Sura XXXVI-Ya Sin (This Sura is said to have been termed by Muhammad "the heart of the Qur'an")

A 'skoob' (books backwards) is any act of destroying books or texts. The skoob is usually carried out in protest by burning or shredding, and might be religiously or politically motivated to purge a community of 'heretical' or 'subversive' influences. The earliest skoobs took place in China under the Ch'in dynasty (221-206 BC), resulting in a massive burning of books in which most copies of the Confucian classics were destroyed. The Spanish clergy undertook mass book-burnings during the 16th century. During the second half of the 18th century in Lithuania, Rabbi Elijah ben Judah Solomon Zalman (1720-1797), also known as the Vilna Gaon, ordered all books on Hasidism to be burnt, while followers of Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, also known as the Baal Shem Tov (1700-1760), ordered all books on Mitnageddim to be burnt. In the Truffaut film Fahrenheit 451 (1966) the fire police do not put out the raging fires everywhere, but use them to skoob all the books on earth.

The artwork SKOOB alludes to the undoing of 'reliable' biblical texts that have become compromised and ineffective through duplicitous interpretation. The 'destruction' of SKOOB's texts is by 'stoning' them and their books and for this purpose white stones, big enough to fit into the hand, are placed upon and around the books to lay them open on white tomb-like slabs. As a kind of terrorists' Tipp-ex, the white stones blot out much of the text. In many countries graves are made up in white-washed stones. When he purges the temple, Christ calls the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites and whited sepulchres.

SKOOB shows what it looks like when dear and precious treasure is destroyed and scorned. It portrays a 'crucifixion' of the WORD. The skoobed texts are: the law of Moses (Exodus 20:1-18) and Christ's declaration in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:43-48). The text from the Qur'an is called the 'heart of the Qur'an' (Surah Yaseen).
 
EXTRA NOTES EXHIBITIONS
 

SKOOB BIBLE COLLECTION: EUROPEAN BIBLES

ALBANIAN 5,000,000 Speakers; Albania, Yugoslavia, Italy, Greece
DHJATA E RE (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: EUR 01

BRETON 500,000 Speakers; France
AR BIBL SANTL - AN TESTAMANT NEVEZ I Ar Pevar Aviel (Gospels in N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: EUR 02

BRETON 500,000 Speakers; France
AR BIBL SANTL - AN TESTAMANT NEVEZ II Oberou Lizherou Diskuliadur (N. Testmnt Epistles) SKOOB Ref: EUR 03 BRETON 500,000 Speakers; France
AR BIBL SANTL - AR SALMOU (Psalms) SKOOB Ref: EUR 04

BULGARIAN 8,500,000 Speakers; Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldovia
?????? (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 05

CATALAN 6,500,000 Speakers; Spain
NOU TESTAMENT (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: EUR 06

CELTIC GAELIC Few speakers; Scotland
AM BIOBALL GAIDHLIG (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 07

CROATIAN 4,500,000 Speakers; Croatia
Sveto Pismo NOVI ZAVJET (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: EUR 08

CROATIAN (SERBO-CROATIAN?) Number of Speakers unknown
BIBLIJA (Stari Novi Zavjet) (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 09

CZECH 12,000,000 Speakers; Czech Republic
BIBLE SVATÁ (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 10

DUTCH 20,000,000 Speakers; Netherlands, Belgium
BIJBEL (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 11

ENGLISH 350,000,000 Speakers; Great Britain & Worldwide
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY BIBLE Catholic Pastoral Edition (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 12

ENGLISH 350,000,000 Speakers; Great Britain & Worldwide
HOLY BIBLE (Large white with golden cross on cover) Authorised King James Version (Full Bible)
SKOOB Ref: EUR 13
ENGLISH 350,000,000 Speakers; Great Britain & Worldwide
JERUSALEM BIBLE Popular Edition (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 14

ENGLISH 350,000,000 Speakers; Great Britain & Worldwide
HOLY BIBLE New International Version (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 15

ENGLISH 350,000,000 Speakers; Great Britain & Worldwide
MODERN LANGUAGE BIBLE The New Berkeley Version (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 16

ENGLISH 350,000,000 Speakers; Great Britain & Worldwide
NEW WORLD TRANSLATION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 17

ESPERANTO 100,000 Speakers; Artificial, international language
LA SANCTA BIBLIO (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 18

ESPERANTO 100,000 Speakers; Artificial, international language
LA NOVA TESTAMENTO (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: EUR 19

ESTONIAN 1,100,000 Speakers; Estonia
PIIBEL (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 20

FINNISH 5,000,000 Speakers; Finland, Sweden, Russia
PYHÄ RAAMATTU (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 21

FRENCH 70,000,000 Speakers; France & Worldwide
LA SAINTE BIBLE (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 22

FRISIAN 750,000 Speakers; Netherlands, Germany
BIBEL (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 23

GERMAN 120,000,000 Speakers; Germany, Austria, Switzerland & elsewhere
Die Gute Nachricht BIBEL in Heutigem Deutsch (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 24

GREEK (MODERN) 11,500,00 Speakers; Greece, Cyprus
TA IEPA GPAMMATA (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 25

GREEK (HELLENISTIC GREEK); Classical language
INTERLINEAR GREEK-ENGLISH (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: EUR 26

HUNGARIAN 15,000,000 Speakers; Hungary, Romania, Slovakia
SZENT BIBLIA Istennek Ó és új Testamentomában (Full Bible - smaller version) SKOOB Ref: EUR 27

HUNGARIAN 15,000,000 Speakers; Hungary, Romania, Slovakia
BIBLIA Istennek az Ószövetségbenés Újszövetségben Adott Kijelentése (Full Bible - larger version)

SKOOB Ref: EUR 28 ICELANDIC 250,000 Speakers; Iceland
BIBLÍAN (GAMLA TESTAMENTIĐ OG NÝA TESTAMENTIĐ) (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 29

IRISH GAELIC 80,000 Speakers; Ireland
TIOMNA NUA ár d'Tiarna agus ár Slánaitheora Íosa Chríst (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: EUR 30

ITALIAN 60,000,000 Speakers; Italy, Switzerland, Eritrea
LA BIBBIA (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 31

LATIN & HELLENISTC GREEK Classical languages
NOVUM TESTAMENTUM GRAECE ET LATINE SKOOB Ref: EUR 32

LATVIAN 1,500,000 Speakers; Latvia
BIBELE (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 33

LITHUANIAN 3,500,000 Speakers; Lithuania
BIBLIJA arba SVENTASIS RASTAS (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 34

LITHUANIAN 3,500,000 Speakers; Lithuania
NAUJASIS TESTAMENTAS (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: EUR 35

MACEDONIAN 2,250,000 Speakers: Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece
HOB?OT ?ABET (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: EUR 36

MALTESE 350,000 Speakers; Malta
IT-TESTMENT IL-GDID (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: EUR 37

NORWEGIAN 5,000,000 Speakers; Norway
BIBELEN DET GAMLE OG DET NYE TESTAMENTE (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 38

POLISH 40,000,000 Speakers; Poland
BIBLIA PISMO SWIETA STAREGO I NOWEGO TESTAMENTU (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 39

PORTUGUESE 155,000,000 Speakers; Portugal and worldwide
BÍBLIA SAGRADA AFRICANA African Portuguese (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 40

PORTUGUESE 155,000,000 Speakers; Portugal and worldwide
BÍBLIA SAGRADA em Portuguęs corrente (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 41

ROMANIAN (RUMANIAN) 24,000,000 Speakers; Romania, Moldova, Ukraine
BIBLIA SA SFÎNTA SCRIPTURA A VACHIULUI SI NOULUI TESTAMENT (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 43

ROMANSCH 65,000 Speakers; Switzerland
BIBLA La Soncha Scrittüra (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 42

SAMI (LAPPISH) 30,000 Speakers; Lappland, Norway, Sweden, Finland
DAK NJĆLLJE EVANGELIUMA JA APOSTALI DAGOK (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: EUR 44

SAMI (LAPPISH) 30,000 Speakers; Lappland, Norway, Sweden, Finland
BIBAL DAIHE BASSE CALA (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 45

SERBIAN (SERBO-CROATIAN) 18,500,000 Speakers; Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro
CBETO ??CMO (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 46

SLOVAK/SLAVONIC Number of Speakers unknown; Czech Republic
THE N. TESTMNT IN SLAVONIC (N. Testmnt in a non-Roman alphabetic script) SKOOB Ref: EUR 47

SLOVENE (SLOVENIAN) 2,000,000 Speakers; Slovenia
SVÄTÉ PÍSMO NOVÝ ZÁKON (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: EUR 49

SPANISH 225,000,000 Speakers; Spain and Worldwide
SANTA BIBLIA (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 51

SLOVENE (SLOVENIAN) 2,000,000 Speakers; Slovenia
SVETO PISMO Stare in Nove Zaveze (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 48

SWEDISH 9,000,000 Speakers; Sweden, Finland
BIBELN ELLER DEN HELIGA SKRIFT (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 50

WELSH 500,000 Speakers; Wales, United Kingdom
Y BEIBL Cymreag Newydd (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: EUR 52

AFRICAN BIBLES

AFRIKAANS 6,000,000 Speakers; South Africa, Namibia
DIE BYBEL 1971 (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 01

AFRIKAANS 6,000,000 Speakers; South Africa, Namibia
DIE BYBEL - Nuwe Vertaling 1 (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 02

AFRIKAANS 6,000,000 Speakers; South Africa, Namibia
DIE BYBEL - Nuwe Vertaling 2 (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 03

AMHARIC 14,000,000 Speakers; Ethiopia
THE BIBLE IN AMHARIC (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 04

BEMBA 1,850,000 Speakers; Dem. Rep. of Congo, Zambia
ICIPANGANO CIPYA (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 05

CHICHEWA (NYANJA) 4,000,000 Speakers; Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
BUKU LOPATULIKA Ndilo MAU A MULUNGU (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 06

CHOKWE 1,000,000 Speakers; Angola, Dem. Rep. of Congo, Zambia
MUKANDA WA ZAMBI (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 07

CHOKWE 1,000,000 Speakers; Angola, Dem. Rep. of Congo, Zambia
USENDO WAHA MIKANDA YA MASAMU (N. Testmnt & Psalms) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 08

EFIK (IBIBIO) 2,750,000 Speakers; Nigeria
EDISANA ?WED ABASI IBOM (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 09

EWE (FON) 4,000,000 Speakers; Togo, Benin, Ghana
NUBABLA YEYE LA (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 10

FANTE (A dialect under AKAN, TWI) 708,470 Speakers; Ghana
NWOMA KR?NKR?N (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 11

HAUSA 25,000,000 Speakers; Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon
LITTAFI MAI TSARKI (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 12

HERERO 76,000 Speakers; Namibia
OMBEIMBELA (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 13

IGBO 12,000,000 Speakers; Nigeria
BIBLE NS? (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 14

KWANGALI (KWANGARI) 150,000 Speakers; Namibia, Angola
BIBELI (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 15

LINGALA 8,500,000 speakers; Congo (Kinshasa & Brassaville), Central African Republic
BOYOKANI YA SIKA PE BANZEMBO (N. Testmnt & Psalms) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 16

LINGALA 8,500,000 speakers; Congo (Kinshasa & Brassaville), Central African Republic
BIBLIA (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 17

LOMWE 2,000,000 Speakers; Mozambique, Malawi
NLAKANO NAHIHANO Masalmo (N. Testmnt & Psalms) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 18

LOZI 450,000 Speakers; Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola
BIBELE YE KENILE (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 19

LUBA (TSHILUBA) 7,800,000 Speakers; Dem. Rep. of Congo
DISAMBI DIPYADIPYA (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 20

LUCHAZI 125,000 Speakers; Angola, Zambia
MBIMBILIYA (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 21

LUVALE 600,000 Speakers: Zambia, Angola, Dem. Rep. of Congo;
MUKANDA WAKALUNGA (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 22

MALAGASY (MALACHE) 10,000,000 Speakers: Madagascar
NY BAIBOLY (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 23

NAMA (KHWE, DAMARA) 150,000 Speakers; South Africa, Namibia
ELOBMÎS (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 24

NDAU 300,000 speakers; E Zimbabwe
BAIBERI (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 25

DEBELE, SOUTHERN (ISINDEBELE); 1,600,000 Speakers: South Africa
ITASTAMENDE ELITJHA ANAMARHALANI AKHETHIWEKO (N. Testmnt & selected Psalms)
SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 26

NDONGA 240,000 Speakers; Namibia, Angola
OMBIMBELI ONDJAPUKI Full Bible SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 27

NGONDE (KYANGONDE, NYAKYUSA) 820,000 Speakers: Tanzania, Malawi
BAIBULO Inongwa Inunu (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 28

NYAMWEZI (NYAMWANGA, CHINAMWANGA, INAMWANGA, NAMWANGA) 904,000 Speakers: Tanzania;
IZWILYAKWE LEZA (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 29

NYAMWEZI (NYAMWANGA, CHINAMWANGA, INAMWANGA 904,000 Speakers: Tanzania
ITESTAMENTO LIPYA (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 30

RONGA RANDIM 500,000 Speakers; Moçambique
ABIBLIA (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 31

RUANDA (KINYARWANDA, RUNDI, HA) 12,000,000 Speakers Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Dem. Rep. of Congo;
BIBLIYA YEAR (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 32

SANGA KISANGA 431,000 Speakers; Congo - Kinshasa
MUKANDA WA LEZA (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 33

SHONA 8,000,000 Speakers; Zimbabwe, Mozambique
BHAIBHERI (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 34

SOMALI 5,500,000 Speakers; Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti
KITAABKA QODUUSKA AH (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 35

SOTHO, NORTHERN (SESOTHO, PEDI) 3,500,000 Speakers: South Africa
BIBELE (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 36

SOTHO, SOUTHERN (SESOTHO SA LEBOA) 2,700,000 Speakers: Lesotho, South Africa
BIBELE (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 37

SWAZI (SISWATI) 1,600,000 Speakers; South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique
LIBHAYIBHELI (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 38

TIGRIGNA (TIGRIGNYA) 3,500,00 Speakers: Eritrea, Ethiopia
Tigrigna N. Testmnt (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 39

TONGA (GITONGA) 900,000 Speakers; Zambia, Zimbabwe
TESTAMENTA NYA YIPHYA Mahungu Nya Yadi (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 40

TSONGA (XITSONGA, SHANGAAN) 1,800,000 Speakers: South Africa, Mozambique
BIBELE yi nga Testamente ya Khale ni Le'yintsha (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 42

TSWA (TSHWA) 700,000 Speakers; Mozambique
A BIBLIA GO BASA (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 41

TSWANA (SETSWANA, CENTRAL TSWANA) 4,500,000 Speakers: South Africa, Botswana
BEIBELE (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 43

TSWANA (WOOKIE) Number of speakers unknown; Zimbabwe, Botswana
BIBELA E E BOITSHČPO (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 44

TWI: AKUAPEM (AKWAPIM) 144,790 Speakers; Ghana
ANYAMES?M ANAA KYER?W KRONKRON AKAN KASA MU (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 45

TWI: ASANTE 913, 270 Speakers; Ghana, Ivory Coast ANYAMES?M ANAA TWER? KRONKRON AKAN KASA MU (Full Bible - hard cover)

SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 46 TWI: ASANTE 913, 270 Speakers; Ghana, Ivory Coast ANYAMES?M ANAA TWER? KRONKRON AKAN KASA MU (Full Bible - soft cover)
SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 47
TXOPI (TXITXOPI) Number of speakers unknown; Mozambique
TIEVANGELI TA MUNE (Four Gospels) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 48

UMBUNDU (MBUNDU) 4,820,000 Speakers; Angola
OTESTAMENTO YOKALIYE (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 49

VENDA 750,000 Speakers; South Africa
BIVHILI (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 50

XHOSA 6,900,000 Speakers; South Africa
IZIBHALO EZINGCWELE (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA51

ZULU 8,800,000 Speakers; South Africa, Lesotho
IBHAYIBHELI ELINGCWELE (Full Bible) SKOOB Ref: AFRICA 52

NORTH AMERICAN BIBLES

HAWAIIAN 2,000 Speakers; Hawaii
KAUOHA HOU (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: NAM 01

IŃUPIAQ (NORTH SLOPE) 60,000 Speakers; Canada and Alaska
UQALUGIKSUAT (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: NAM 03

MUSKOKEE (MUSKOGEAN) Number of speakers unknown: United States of America
TESTEMENT MUCVSAT (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: NAM 02

NAVAJO 440,000 Speakers; United States of America
DIYIN GOD BIZAAD Aha'dee? ?niidíii (N. Testmnt) SKOOB Ref: NAM 04

WESTERN APACHE Number of speakers unknown; United States of America
BIK'EHGO'IHI'NAN BIYATI' N. Testmnt SKOOB Ref: NAM 05

 
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