Born in Africa, Death Unknown

This project is primarily about belonging, an examination of my own roots, but it is also about colonial legacy and white, Zimbabwean identity. One of the primary attractions in emigrating to Rhodesia was the allure of ‘the Rhodesian way of life’. A considerable amount of outdoor time was spent swimming, playing golf, lawn bowls, and tennis - in many ways these activities were central to white Rhodesian identity. The pinnacle of this Rhodesian lifestyle was to have your very own swimming pool, it was something to aspire to. I felt that returning to them offered a commentary not only on our own past (as white Zimbabweans) but also of the current social, political and economic environment of Zimbabwe. While many things have changed - the decline of the British Empire, Zimbabwean independence, the emerging black middle class and the deterioration of the Zimbabwean economy - many of these colonial legacies and mentalities associated with the heyday of the swimming pool have also not.