Mother of Connections

"Art is not just a little thing. Art makes people unite."

-Tshidiso Makhele

Tshidiso is a collaborator to my upcoming solo exhibition what remains through time, slowness and stillness which opens 15 July at the Oliewenhuis Art Museum. These words by Tshidiso reveals what this social practice of artmaking has inherently meant to him. . .it has created not only a deeper meaning, but also a holding space of connection.

Tshidiso, along with other contributing collaborators, have helped to build 'a place of gathering' within a satellite National Museum, where collaborators have become part of the artwork itself. As we collectively actioned the building through evolving post-natural and indigenous methodologies, these collaborators created their own unfolding meaning. And I have been deeply moved by this.

It is one thing to imagine an exhibition or to write an imagined future exhibition proposal , but it is an entirely different thing to see, to hear, to feel the living impact of such an experience in another person. It is both deeply moving and humbling. There have been moments where images of my gestural drawings have flashed through by mind as we collectively mixed clay, grass and animal dung, reminding me that, like the drawings, this exhibition perhaps serves as a conduit in creating energetic shifts at multiple levels. .

Setting up the exhibition installation, I have come to realise the continuity of my work around reflection, relationality and connection over time.

It has been an honour to have been named 'Mmakopano' - Mother of Connections - by the people of Mangaung.

photo credit: MyMalaika_Photography 'Mmakopano"