1 December 2009 marked the 175th anniversary of the emancipation of Slaves in South Africa.

White…the colour of peace and hope… the cloth worn by slaves. Water…the element that binds us all…the carrier of slave ships to unknown lands.

Konshus Pilot Media invites you to remember and honour the contribution of the slaves to the Cape, through White Paper Boats- a unique fusion of music and origami in a ritual embodied by the shamanic vocal performance of Ernestine Deane.

It is impossible to look around Cape Town without seeing the indelible mark of the slaves on our beautiful city-whether through the old buildings they built or the first roads & mountain trails etched out by their hard labour ; their contribution to the Afrikaans language or the imprint of their ancestral line on the faces of our mixed population. Slaves were brought from places like Indonesia, the coast of Africa, Polynesia, even China (to name only a few).

White Paper Boats flips the dark intentions of the slave route as white paper boats are created throughout the performance, giving all present the opportunity to cast a boat onto water and claim their place in present day Cape Town…a place of hope and healing.

White Paper Boats offers an opportunity to unite the diverse people of the Cape through the accessible ritual of music, and without blame or victimization.

The ritual allows the audience to enter a space of fluidity and open-ness, as if at sea. They are invited to claim their part in the healing of present day Cape Town as white paper boats are cast onto water… carrying the new hopes and dreams of the current inhabitants of the Mother city.

Supported by stellar musicians, Brian de Goede (Moodphase5ive drummer/producer) and Gershon Naidoo (Nukphonik guitarist/vocalist/composer), Ernestine flies her soulful vocals over an acoustic landscape of guitar, drum and bow as her songs journey through the issues of ancestry, dispossession, post-colonialisation and ultimately- unity and celebration.

The performance is punctuated by a dance of pride… and the action of creating white paper boats through *origami, representing the human ability to survive and heal through mindful action-even in the most dire circumstances. * The sublime Kyoko Kimura of Origami for Africa will perform origami.

*Konshus Pilot Media is a Cape Town based multimedia label that promotes modern-day storytelling with conscious content, through the media of music and film. Konshus Pilot Media deals only in original content that promotes pride in heritage and identity as well as healing through creativity. Creative husband and wife team, Ernestine Deane and Brian de Goede, who are aware of the huge impact of music and film on South Africans, run Konshus Pilot Media. They are committed to producing content that instills in the youth a pride in their heritage- encouraging South African communities to embrace and tell their own stories.

Ernestine Deane is well known in the South African music industry for her outstanding talents as vocalist and songwriter and for her work with top S.A. group Moodphase5ive. She is passionate about exploring her hybrid heritage. Her songs speak for those who cannot : oppressed nations, forgotten elders, exploited women and children. In this intimate production the audience participates in her passion for healing through music and ritual, as she remembers her ancestors- the nameless men and women who arrived in bondage at the port of Cape Town a few hundred years ago. Ernestine performs on stages around the world, billing with acts such as Morcheeba, Jazzanova, Horace Andy, Cesaria Evora.

Kyoko Kimura is a founder member of Origami for Africa. She promotes this ancient Japanese art form as a means of meditation and mindfulness, making it accessible to the general public at libraries and other public spaces.

Gershon Naidoo is the multi-talented composer/ guitarist/ vocalist who drives Nu Soul group Nukphonik and dance outfit Free Quincy.