Tragedy of the Commons: Part II
Bimbi Lubosos Right Foot (1879 - 1919) Bimbi (pronounced Bembeh)
was chief beater for the famed explorer, Lord Buford Mumford Augustine Tullyrill;
he was head tracker and huntsman from 1899 to 1906. As a game scout, Bimbi
was well known for his tracking skills. Bimbi was in full charge of locating big
game (rhino, elephant, cats and buffalo),organizing the beaters and flushing the
quarry to the sights of Lord Buford, his comrades and slayers. In October
of 1906, Bimbi located a huge band of elephants. Lord Buford had long wanted to
fell a large bull as a trophy. This prized pachyderm had recently joined a group
of females with intent to mate. Lord Buford had, for years, pursued this monster,
which was adorned with the largest Tuskers he had ever seen. This,
Lord Buford wanted for his personal self to be a trophy unmatched.
At the time Bimbi found the herd, his master, Lord Buford, was suffering from
a severe case of gout and could neither ride nor walk, but intent on the conquest,
the Lord insisted that Bimbi order his beaters to drive the herd from hiding to
within convenient range of the campsite, even though Bimbis village was
in the path between the elephants and his master. With his position as tracker
in direct conflict with his family and village ties, Bimbi refused to execute
the Lords command. Bimbi was summarily bound, and his right foot was severed
just above the ankle (a common practice for insurrection) as reward for his dissent.
Lord Tullyrill was strict and uncompromising when it came to disobedience
cant have the cheeky kaffir doin what he will or nothing would
get done. Kamsi, the second, a rival huntsman from another tribe, was
promoted, and gladly embraced his new position, driving the herd into the sites
of the Lords guns. Bimbis village was destroyed, his eldest son
was trampled to death, his wife, Tamsaw, was disfigured and lived only a few months
after the tragedy. Bimbi was forced to leave the remains of his family and
work for a coffee plantationer as a floor scrubber. Buford got his bull (a
record held for some twenty years), and the herd was decimated with much feasting
and merry making after the stacking of over four tons of ivory.
Life's
stories Life's stories can be held in a shoebox.
This Shoebox is but one of billions of shoeboxes, billions of stories. |
History Not Recorded Tragedy
of the Commons: Bimbi Lubosos Right Foot 
History not recorded, Tragedy of the Commons: Part II
Submission
from the 6th International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition Catalogue
description of Michael Randles: "Sequel to Tragedy of the Common, in the
5th International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition, Bimbi Luboso's Right Foot directs
the point of view to history not recorded, a narrative of fate self-organized
and indifferent. Betrayal, ignorance and loss are metaphor in the cast and lot
of humanity." Bimbi, head tracker for Lord Buford Mumford Autustine Tullyrill,
was bound and his right foot severed when he refused to drive a herd of pachyderms
within range of the Lord's campsite. Michael Randles remains on the testy edge
of art and ideas. "Iconoclastic iconography is a task reduced to a cacophony
of isms; fertile ground for the genetic white noise emanating from our vestigial
tails to interrupt humanity's neural circuits while I, affectionately, still swing
from the trees."
shoebox sculpture
| 
exhumation | |