This article examines how a poem and a painting, which both refer to the wreck of the troopship SS Mendi on 21 February 1917, offer different insights into the way they entered a fractured national memory, culture and history. SEK Mqhayi’s traditional poem Ukutshona kuka Mendi: The sinking of the Mendi and Hilary Graham’s painting The Wreck of the Mendi reveal how narratives reflected on the relationship between Europe and Africa in 1917. They also show how such links have changed as revealed in the recent centenary celebrations of the SS Mendi disaster in Britain and South Africa. The reciprocity between a traditional African culture and a settler ethos is examined as well as how this plays a part in the creation of new meaning. This article explores the way art may inform and unite cultures at different historical junctures.

中文翻译：

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SEK Mqhayi的《 Ukutshona kuka Mendi：《门迪沉没》（1922）和巨灾叙事》中希拉里·格雷厄姆的《门迪的沉船》（1994）中的“ SS Mendi：塑造国家”

本文考察了一首诗和一幅画作，它们都涉及1917年2月21日党卫军门迪（SS Mendi）的残骸，如何为他们进入破碎的民族记忆，文化和历史提供了不同的见解。SEK Mqhayi的传统诗《 Mendi：沉没》和希拉里·格雷厄姆（Hilary Graham）的油画《 Mendi的沉船》揭示了叙事如何反映了1917年欧洲与非洲之间的关系。庆祝英国和南非的SS Mendi灾难。研究了非洲传统文化与定居者精神之间的相互关系，以及这在创造新含义中如何发挥作用。本文探讨了艺术可以在不同的历史关头传达和团结文化的方式。