I dodged a Bullet, says Bok's ex-wife

A fluffy golden quilt made of bulletproof material draws an uncanny parallel between the lives of Durban artist Andrea Walters and slain model Reeva Steenkamp.

Walters, a former model, was married to former Springbok hooker James Dalton, known as Bullet in his playing days, for four years. In 2007, she launched an urgent court application for a protection order against Dalton, claiming he had abused her physically and mentally. The interdict was refused. The couple's divorce was finalised the same year.

Now living in Durban, Walters, 56, is in the final year of her visual arts degree at Unisa. She is telling Steenkamp's story through an artwork that forms part of an exhibition, Blowing in the Wind, opening at Durban's KZN Society of the Arts gallery on Tuesday.

On Valentine's Day 2013, while Walters was setting up an exhibition on domestic violence in Gauteng, a colleague asked her if she had heard that Oscar Pistorius had shot his girlfriend. She said she felt the parallels immediately. "I had lived at Silver Lakes, directly across the road from where Reeva was killed in Silver Woods. I faced the same kind of violence. I was threatened with a similar gun loaded with similar bullets.

"I probably had the same experiences she had going out with him where people flocked to get his autograph. I was subjected to seven years of physical and mental violence by my husband. I had a nervous breakdown."

Walters, a conceptual artist, began her visual arts degree at the age of 50. She is now in her final year, having racked up distinctions and a merit award.

For the exhibition she created the quilt, made of Kevlar, a high-strength material used to make bulletproof vests. Embroidered on each of the 42 squares attached to the eiderdown are the words: "I woke up in a happy safe home this morning. Not everyone did." These were the final words Steenkamp posted on Instagram.

Steenkamp was shot by Pistorius, 28. He is serving a five-year prison term for culpable homicide.

The exhibition is a reflection on contemporary issues around environmental and human exploitation. It runs until March 22.