Dicerus Socius: John Moore

John Moore
Diceros Socius: Rhino Weaver
Black and white Linocut,
Printed on white Hahnemuhle Paper
Size: 130cm x 80cm “

Day Four of South Africa's The Lockdown Collection showcases a linocut  by John Moore, "Diceros Socius: Rhino Weaver. " A rhinoceros is filled with birds that made nests borrowed into the rhino'sbody, which itself has the texture of a woven basket.   Moore explains his work on Instagram:

  "Just as the nesting social weavers (Philetarirus socius) in the artwork can be seen to be inhabiting the rhinoceros’ body, so it can be thought of that COVID-19 is inhabiting human sapiens and threatening their existence. Humans are now confined to their homes during “Lockdown” due to the effects of a mutated virus adapted to and using man as its host. We as humans, now need to take the time in Lockdown to contemplate our association with nature and the impact we have had on her." - @johnmooreartist #TheLockdownCollection #ArtForGood

Moore's fanciful title is a composite of the Latin terms  Diceros ("Rhinoceros") and Socius (bonds or alliance, the root of the word "society.)  The rhino's body makes visible the new form that society has suddenly taken in South Africa and around the world.

Male African weaver birds are known for constructing elaborate and intricate nests, with which they lure a female mate to settle and lay eggs. Here the rhino is figured as the national body, into which innumerable householders have sheltered in place under conditions of the Lockdown.  Each bird can be though as equivalent to a virus infiltrating its RNA into human cells, turning the body's cells into destructive miniature virus-producting factories that assault the pulmonary system and endanger the entire organism. Rather like Diane Victor's scaly pangolin (Day Six), the surface of the rhino's hide is reminiscent of the protuberance-filled surface of the novel coronavirus, the form that now haunts all of our waking and sleeping hours.

As in the works of Thabiso Mohlakoana and Diane Victor, an animal form is used to evoke the intersection of human and natural worlds in these unsettled times. As we burrow into our isolated nests, will we forget the ties that bind us, beyond the narrow confines of our households, or will pause to apprehend, like Moore's weaver birds, our fates are entangled with one another and the global webs of biodiversity that sustain us all?