women artists building bridges between cultures

The great journey we make through life, is simply the story of a soul starting from beyond the bounds of eternity, sojourning through time, and on, into other realities. While we pass through many dawns and midnights, shedding our multiple selves till we attain refinement, we may lose our paths, but purpose has a lifeline that restores us. What we leave behind, is a bold legacy, across the face of time with consistency; change being the only dynamic constant.

In Untitled, we are presented with fresh and vivid colours some of which reference the vegetation and topography of Lamu island.

These pieces are about the new way I look at black women’s bodies. Racialized women face many challenges, starting with claiming their sexual and reproductive rights- the right to own their body.
The wearing of masks relates to the current Covid-19 safety measures. Without a full face to look at, the women could be anybody, leaving the viewer to superimpose their own person.

Expresses the cry of a woman who wants to be allowed to show and realize her full potential, without being held back or governed by her biology.  She peels off her skin like a shell and pours out her hidden potential to show what she is capable of, if given the chance.

Kgosigadi means Queen in the Setswana language. Queen Mmanthatisi ruled the Batswana tribe, at the time over 40,000 people, in South Africa in the 19^th century. She was known for her excellent leadership and bravery. The Tswanas moved from different parts of Africa down south to Botswana and South Africa, thus the different colours on the Queen’s face.

Cliché of integration (chocolate bar) put on the pedestal but connected with the protagonist only with a thin wire,...

Evocation of migration, cultural shock, integration, but also tenacity represented by the elongated neck. The face without ears signifying the difficulty to be heard, and the protruding rib-cage the stress of adjusting.

Amandla is a word in Zulu meaning power. The power for the people to free themselves from political slavery and corrupt governments. In South Africa we need leaders who can represent the African culture in a positive way and support the young generation.

This artwork is a reference of the empty pages of the old family album. The cardboard pages of the album have yellowed with age, covered in coffee-coloured stains and reddish outlines where photographs were mounted. I am drawn to the scurf marks, dirt spots and finger print smudges – signs of an accumulated time which leaks from its decaying condition