Helen and the Owl House

According to sources, Helen Martins became bored with her "dull" life and resolved to transform the environment around her. She began an obsessive project around 1945 to decorate her home and garden. In 1964, she was joined in her work by a Coloured man named Koos Malgas, who helped her build the sculptures in her garden. Her work was a source of suspicion and derision within the village. She committed suicide in 1976 by ingesting caustic soda at the age of 78.