- Linda Hollier
Updated: Aug 22, 2025
The opening of the My African Dream Events space this week in Spatial was a huge success.
I was honoured to exhibit my African collection "Imithandazo" alongside the calligraphy collection "Elegant Strokes of Japan" by Fumio Kojima from Kyoto. Once again the Bridging Worlds concept was on display, as were the bonds and connections created with others in the metaverse.
These exhibitions will remain there for some time and you are invited to visit and view them.
At the opening I was asked to speak about my collection. I shared how the collection was inspired by the song with the same name and focused on two themes of the song - collaboration and blessing.
To illustrate the special meaning of rain in Africa I spoke briefly about my artwork "Raining Madiba".
I would like to share the story in detail here:
The year is 2008, the month is August, and I am in South Africa, the land of my birth. It is a very chilly morning in the Cape as we set out for Groot Drakenstein prison, formally known as Victor Verster. It is so chilly in fact, that we make sure we have extra layers of clothing under our smart outfits.
My husband and I are privileged to be invited to the unveiling of a 3,2 metre statue by the sculptor Jean Doyle. This is no ordinary sculpture, for it commemorates a significant event in 1990, and a historic moment in Nelson Mandela’s walk to freedom.
The bronze statue marks the spot outside the prison where Nelson Mandela took his first steps as a free man after twenty seven years.
We drive from Cape Town to the Cape Winelands. As we approach the prison after an hour long drive, we go through at least three security checks, confirming for us that Madiba will indeed be present at the unveiling. He is!
We are welcomed by Tokyo Sexwale, who commissioned the sculpture, into a huge marquee, erected especially for the event. We mingle with the other guests and are delighted when we are introduced to Ahmed Kathrada and Eddie Daniels, both of whom were on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela. We discover that it is Ahmed’s 79th birthday today and that Eddie is 80 years old, despite the fact that he looks as if he is in his late 60’s!
“Tell them about the day you stole the newspaper from Brother September when he was praying”, says Ahmed to Eddie, who replies that “It was a spur of the moment thing!” We laugh together as this tale and others are shared.
Eddie tells us that they are healthy now in their old age because when they were young they did physcial labour, ate no fatty foods and had discipline! Realizing what he is referring to, we all burst out laughing again.
The time for the unveiling arrives and we move outside. The wind is blowing and it is raining. My small umbrella keeps blowing inside out. Next to us stand the Brand family. Mr Brand was Nelson Mandela’s prison warden. I look at him and am overwhelmed as I am confronted head on with the overwhelming power of forgiveness and reconciliation.
To our right is a special tent that has been set up for Madiba and his family.
Speeches are made and then the moment arrives. As the statue is unveiled, the skies open further and there is the most incredible downpour in that instant! Perhaps I should not be surprised but I am. Such a downpour is considered a blessing in Africa. I am witnessing a special moment. Not only those of us present, but all of nature, is applauding and approving.
I decide that the rain will not deter me. I cannot go home without at least one photo of Madiba. I make my way as close as possible to the open-sided tent. A lady next to me shares her huge black umbrella with me as I hold up my camera and shakingly click.
Later, my sms to my children reads, “Drenched but happy. Saw him. Love Mom”
In Abu Dhabi five years later I attended the memorial service for Nelson Mandela, who passed away on 5 December 2013.
After the service, my dear friend Bahareh Amidi, who recited at the memorial, encouraged me to create an artwork as a tribute to Madiba. I got out my photos taken at the unveiling, picked up my iphone, and allowed my fingers to create a piece.
The resulting artwork “Raining Madiba” depicts Nelson Mandela becoming a raindrop which blesses the entire world.
Soon after that I was honored to have the artwork up on TV screens at a special event in Dubai. South Africans from all over the region gathered together with friends at the Habtoor Grand Resort, to watch a live broadcast of of Nelson Mandela’s funeral in Qunu, his rural home village in the Eastern Cape Province. Each guest also received a printed copy of the artwork.
Phebus Georgiades, secretary general of the South African Business Council in the UAE made this sharing possible. Mr Georgiades organized the memorial event in coordination with the South African consul-general.
I was deeply encouraged by all who shared with me what they saw in the artwork.
May “Raining Madiba” continue to foster reconciliation and love amongst us all.
(A Japanese translation of this post can be found here)
- Linda Hollier
Inspired by the 1937 film “Lost Horizon”, the epic adventure “Journey to Shangri-La” can be found in the Spatial metaverse - an immersive, online space that can be experienced via laptop, tablet, mobile or VR headset, and in which users represented by avatars interact.
After watching a short film in a movie theatre, visitors to "Journey to Shangri-La" jump into snowy mountains only to discover that their plane has crashed. One now has to find one’s way to safety and serenity in the magical valley of Shangri-La, high in the Himalayas. Here people live in perfect harmony with nature and no one grows old. Via the lamasery of Shangri-La, one discovers how to find exclusive avatars, is directed to a magic boat ride and is also invited to explore the massive mountain terrain with breathtaking views.
I am very excited to have been invited by Dave Fox, the builder of “Journey to Shangri-La”, to have a solo exhibition in a gallery in this space.
My exhibition ”Whispers of White” is an immersive exploration into the tranquil and ethereal world crafted through the lens of iPhone artistry. As a result of multi-sensory perception, this collection captures the unseen energies and unspoken moments in serene white hues.
”Whispers of White” invites the viewer to delve into a symphony of subtle shades, where every piece echoes calmness and purity. On this unique journey, each artwork whispers its own tale in white, and invites one to experience art beyond sight.
It is my wish that like a prism separates white light into different colors, the spirit of each viewer may reveal hidden depths within these artworks.
You are invited to visit Journey to Shangri-La and encounter my exhibition.
Whispers of White: 1 December 2024 - 31 December 2024
Updated: Nov 18, 2024
Today in the Spatial metaverse MetaCoach gave a talk on surviving the holidays.
Lisbet Spatial, who is part of the Bridging Worlds group I am part of that host these events, not only MC'd the event, but also decided to transcribe and summarize the talk as Coach was speaking.
There is a chat function in Spatial, and by adding this transcription/summary to the chat, Lisbet enabled visitors from all different parts of the world to use the translate function to read what Coach was saying in their own language.
I was blown away not only by her ability, but also by the fact that once again I am aware how people from different cultures can meet, share experiences and share personal stories in the metaverse.
This inspired me to copy paste from the chat (because it will disappear in 24 hours) and share the transcription/summary here. It is such a valuable topic for all of us.
Here it is:
The trauma and stressors for the holidays can be the same no matter where we are in the world
The goal is to get through the holiday seasons and learn how to have great celebrations, minimize or eliminate the trauma and drama
You can't plan for everything, but you can prepare for some things, and this is what coach calls the survivor's guide
The first step of getting through the holidays: The first step of survival is don't manufacture it. Don't give in to that dreaded "Oh no" mindset
It's a slippery slope to have the "oh no, time to get ready for holidays” mindset
Who is coming? How much will it cost? How long will it last?
People dynamics play a big role
As a child, one doesn't know how much work the parents go through to make it happen
Everyone has a person in their family, that when they come to an event, they bring drama
Coach is talking about that one person who causes trauma or drama at a holiday celebration
He had a drunk uncle who would stumble around at the events
The children found it funny, the adults did not
But it all starts off with that first moment "Oh no, gotta get ready for the holidays”
The first thing in the survivors guide is - do not expect the negative and speak negativity into existence
This is where critical thinking can be useful
We can look at previous holiday events and identify what things happened that set the drama in motion. We can think about those things and put things in place and prepare our minds for what can happen (and probably will).
Coach's father had a conversation with the "drunk uncle" before the event one year. He asked him in advance to not come and "act a fool”
Coach was young and didn't know what was said on the other side of the phone, but he remembers a good, better, event that year.
Critical thiniking - identify what can cause the problems
Conversational intelligence to mitigate those problems and also speak to oneself about how to handle the situations
Emotional intelligence plays a role, too
Holiday seasons, people coming together can be traumatic. Maybe there is an empty seat because someone is no longer there.
Some families still set a place at the table if someone has passed away, to honour their memory
That kind of takes the challenge or sting away, because instead of mourning, people celebrated the life of the deceased family member
It changes things around, into a more positive approach.
In the USA, there is an extremely high level of substance abuse in the holidays
This is due to various reasons
They feel more celebratory, more free, do things they might not usually do
Sometimes substance abuse during the holidays ends in disaster. At a company that coach worked, they would fill in a blank "termination of contract form" in advance, because they knew someone would mess up at the holiday function.
If you are alone, the sadness during holiday season can be overwhelming
Coach advises that one finds community
One doesn’t have to do it alone
It seems to be magnified (the loneliness) during the holidays
Coach's family used to invite people over who did not have families
When Coach's mother passed away, so many people that came to their home during the holidays attended her funeral and loved her
One part of the survivor's guide is to reach out to people who don't have family
Coach is speaking about his childhood
His mother used to make sure everything was perfect
Until she decided not to stress herself out, but rather focus on enjoying the festivities
Tip- You don't have to strive for perfection
Don't stress yourself out
Coach is talking about families with members who have special needs
It is important to remember these families, because often they don’t attend, the person with special needs is not accommodated
Tip- If you are hosting an event, keep this in mind and try to accommodate them if you can
Coach speaks about his neighbour's autistic child
His mother invited them over and spent time with the child so that the mom could relax
Somebody cared enough to give the mother a moment of freedom. Coach remembers these things that his mother did growing up
These things help him be sensitive to people around him
If you are preparing an event, consider the people who would not come because of special needs. You can reach out and say "what can i do so that you can be here?”
Small gestures like that are huge and can change the dynamics of someone's holidays and life
That falls under critical thinking
It’s part of emotional intelligence
When we employ these things, use these approaches, imagine how much better holiday celebrations could be
We can apply this to every day life, not just in the holidays
One of coach's mottos is "a winning mindset”
He believes that there are things that we can do every day to make life easier to decrease the trauma and the drama
We can be thankful for things that we go through
Each one of us has the power and the ability to be a game changer in somebody's life.
How do I make this holiday season better? For myself, but also for those around me.
When we take that winning mindset, we start to punch trauma and drama in the gut.
We prepare to move forward in a positive way
This counteracts the trauma and drama
On to the next point in the survivor's guide:
Many people overdo it financially during the holiday season
Coach tells a story of a man who bought a big gift for his partner to make up for all his mistakes during the year
He got himself into debt
He gave her the gift
But she gave him divorce papers
And gave him the gift back
The man had thought that an expensive gift (that he could not afford) would solve his problems
Sometimes parents buy expensive gifts for their kids because when they grew up, they did not have it
We must think: What makes sense?
What really matters?
What will not hurt me in the long run?
If we think about those things, it changes our mindset
Changes how much we spend money during the holidays, and what we spend it on
The goal is to get through the holidays and through the trauma and drama, but also to get through it without debt!!!
Coach suggests that people prepare their heart and mind so that when the time comes to celebrate, we have things in place to minimize the problems during the holidays
The focus can be on coming together as family and friends, instead of buying things for each other
Coach talks about an advert in the USA about the Lexus car
They give each other keys to a Lexus car and the advert says "It's the gift to remember”
This commercial can make people feel like a loser if they cannot do that
It's a crazy example from TV. but many people feel this way, even about smaller things
Many people collect for the needy during the holidays, coach suggests doing it all year long
"If I am doing good all year long it becomes easier to do good during the hoildays”
We can start the survivor's guide at the beginning of the year already with a winning mindset, and touch the people around us
The people are the ones that matter
The gifts are temporary, the relationships matter
A closing remark by coach:
He wants to challenge everyone here today
Think about the one person in your life that you may need to repair a relationship with.
What conversation do I need to have with that person?
What emotional intelligence do i need to use? What conversational intelligence do I need to use?
How do I make it right? How do I squash the trauma, drama, how do I have a winning mindset.
(After sharing this blog post, it has now been translated into Japanese by Maro Dori, another member of the Bridging Worlds team. It can be read in Japanese here)