Introduction

Sometime in the 1990s, a mural appeared on a wall in an affluent residential suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. This was at a time when South Africa was making its transition from the low-intensity conflict which characterised the last decades of Apartheid, to peace and democracy. The words ‘From Pieces to Peace’ were painted in large letters above the silhouettes of people holding hands against an urban scene in the background. The image, the words and the dawn colours of purple, orange and yellow encapsulated the pride, relief and optimism about the future that characterised the national mood in South Africa at the time. But 15 years later, an electric fence had been erected on the wall to keep burglars out, the mural had faded in the harsh African sunlight, the paint had flaked and a large crack appeared in the wall. ‘From Pieces to Peace’ was literally falling back to pieces again.