Walter Battiss Art Gallery – the home of Fook Island – Featured Blog

The Karoo Heartland town of Somerset East is a place full of interesting and quirky attractions.  One of them is the Walter Battiss Art Gallery which also houses the local tourism information office.  Battiss (6 January 1906 – 20 August 1982) was generally considered to be the foremost South African abstract painter but is probably equally as famous as the creator of the quirky Fook Island.  Fook Island was Battiss’ “island of the imagination” for which he created a map, imaginary people, plants, animals, a history as well as a set of postage stamps, currency, passports and driver’s licences. He also created a Fookian language with a full alphabet.  Apparently Battiss, or “King Ferd the Third”, even traveled internationally using his Fookian passport.  You will have to make a little pilgrimage to Fook Island… I mean Somerset East, to see if you can perhaps find some signs of this place of wonder. 

Naval Hill in Bloemfontein has always been a beacon in the Free State capitol and known for the magnificent views of the surrounding city.  In 2012 an eight meter tall bronze sculpture, made by the same sculptor as the one standing in Mandela Square in Sandton, was revealed.  Last year during the #MeetSouthAfrica bloggers trip before Indaba, the one group spent a night in Bloem and visited Naval Hill at sunset.  The pictures they posted were stunning.  I also got to spend a night in Bloem on my way to Jozi earlier in the year and wanted to do the same.  Unfortunately it was cloudy which meant the sunset wasn’t going to be as spectacular and I decided not to stick around, but sharing the view with Madiba was still special.