(Wees
Gegroet- Greetings)
A collective of young black women, whose
bodies of work have collided to make a topical and riveting exhibition, simply
entitled iQhiya, opens at the KZNSA
on July 26.
iQhiya is essentially, a network of 11
young black women living and working in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Botswana
delving in the realms of performance art, installation, video art, photography
and other media. At the core of the group are shared personal and professional
experiences that help shape each individual artist through various projects and
exhibitions.
iQhiya features work by Cape Town-based artists Bonolo Kavula,
Matlhogonolo Charity Kelapile, Bronwyn Katz, Matlhogonolo Pinky Mayeng, Thulile
Gamedze, Lungiswa Gqunta, Asemahle Ntlonti, Thandiwe Msebenzi, Sethembile
Msezane, Sisipho Ngodwana and Buhlebezwe Siwani. The artists have used a
variety of media: digital, print and sculpture.
Their joint statement explains: “Our works
speak individually and collectively, about voids, tensions and histories;
lingering between the materiality of everyday existence, and the imaginative,
fantastical futures where one might be free. We have been working profoundly in
our personal capacities, with each artwork speaking volumes individually and
powerfully as a collective: probing and creating debates surrounding why, we as
black women, do we only become relevant as a collective voice.”
“We are iQhiya which is the support
structure we wish we always had in learning spaces, the centres we always
wished we could occupy, and the people we wished we could share lunch times
with. We give you iQhiya!”
They have emerged in a time where there are
contested notions of the roles of gender and tradition within contemporary
South Africa, where the centre of power is no longer solely defined by
masculinity. As a set of emerging artists, they are determined to extend their
practice to a broader audience.
iQhiya – directly translated meaning the
head covering or headband - seems to equally reveal and conceal elements of
black female-ness. There is an intergenerational connection between those that
wrap their heads - an ancient inequality that targets black women at the
intersections of their race and gender, and this potent violence continues to
unfold and unfurl in newer and more clever ways in the contemporary era. We
exist in a space of tension, which parallels that of iQhiya- a signifier of both strength and burden with the daily
realities we face as young black women. The practice of the collective, iQhiya, therefore, is gestural; it is an
action that asserts our presence through articulating our own narratives.
The work produced by iQhiya is at once
playful and sombre; it is alive, iQhiya
tells stories of childhood, the future, and stories of the often veiled black
female imagination. The group exhibition has travelled and been exhibited in
Athens, Greece, and Kassel, Germany.
The artists are hosting a public walkabout,
to enlighten interested parties about their work on July 27 at 09h00 and again
on July 29 at 09h00.
There will also be a KZNSA LAB TALK on July
27 at 18h00 with the seven exhibiting artists: Qhiya would like to invite women
creatives to participate in this seminar at KZNSA gallery. The seminar seeks to
create a space of sharing, discussion and reflection, which advocates the
engagement for women and their professional practice. Through the creation of
this space of visibility the seminar hopes to contribute to the empowerment of
women voices, as well as to promote interdisciplinary networks between women.
The Seminar will take the form of a fish bowl discussion and everyone will be
free to contribute.
RSVP is essential for the LAB TALK, phone
031 277 1705 or email gallery@kznsagallery.co.za
iQhiya runs at the KZNSA Gallery from July 26 to August 13t The KZNSA is situated at 166 Bulwer
Road, Glenwood, in Durban. More information on 031 277 1705, fax 031 201 8051 or
cell 082 220 0368 or visit www.kznsa.co.za
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