Leave Your Labels at the Door: Challenging Femininity in South Africa
This online exhibition was created and presented by myself, Umulkhayr Mohamed, and Anna Margaretha Maria Benting. All descriptions were written and edited collectively.
Gender in South Africa remains contested; there is a strong tradition regarding how men and women should behave. What happens then if a man decides to wear a skirt? And what does it mean when a Black woman rejects conforming to Western ideas of beauty?
The gender norms that are present in South Africa have developed under the influence of colonialism and Apartheid. These strong traditional frameworks are being shaken by artists who seek to challenge the popular notions of femininity. By drawing on their respective cultural backgrounds, the artists use the physical body to challenge the patriarchal society which objectifies and marginalizes them. The artists portray bodies as vessels of empowering, corporeal agency and redefine femininity in a way that allows them to celebrate themselves. More importantly, this reclamation of identity touches not just upon the gender discourses of South Africa, but upon the global issues of gender equality and the legacy of the harmful male gaze.
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FAKA for Mail & Guardian Friday Cover Feature
Nick Widmer, South Africa, 2016, Digital Photograph, dimensions unknown, Available Digitally
Feela Gyccu and Desire Marea, or “FAKA”, are black queer performers. Here they pose for a cover feature on a South African culture magazine. Their prominent facial hair and strapless wedding dresses provide a strikingly masculine and feminine image simultaneously. The blending of two ideas of gender, especially on a magazine cover, provides vital visibility to the minority social group of South Africa.
The Rebirth of the Black Venus
Billie Zangewa (2010), South-Africa, Hand-stitched silk collage, 127 x 130 cm, Collection Gervanne and Matthias Leridon.
Zangewa rises from the cityscape of Johannesburg as a Black Venus. She portrays herself in a way that resembles the Venus of Botticelli, while Venus also refers to the Black Venus Saartjie, who was exhibited in Europe because of her physical appearance. Through this work questions are raised about the cultural constructs of beauty and the objectification of female bodies. Meanwhile the material, silk, is used to reflect rebirth.
Basho Bacama
Buhlebezwe Siwani (2017), South Africa, Green soap, resin, enamel, steel and rose petals, dimensions variable, Private Collection.
Drawing from Siwani's cultural background, the installation depicts the act of bathing in public.This public rearticulation of young female nakedness during the act of cleansing, moulding in part from soap, also reveals our own comfortability (or lack thereof) with such public displays. Siwani believes that every medium performs; what is this installation performing to you?
Miss D’vine I
Zanele Muholi, South Africa, 2007, Chromogenic print, 76,5 x 76,5 cm, Private Collection
Miss D’vine’s union of distinctive red heels and a traditional South African garb encapsulates the freedoms of drag culture to bring together different elements to transform, or rather unveil, a personal and unique identity. Miss D’vine’s position in the center of the photograph represents a pensive display of African identity.
Arching Type
Marlene Steyn, South Africa (2019), Fiber Glass, Resin, Automotive Paint, dimensions unknown, Private collection.
This imposing yet playful figure identifiable as female despite the missing torso, pushes us to explore how in this sculpture femininity is expressed in the absences, in the immaterial. Steyn has described her sculptures as figures that have left her canvases before becoming fully formed. The resulting sculptures reveal how the artist has surrendered to external forces in its imperfections, forgoing the draw to present the feminine as aesthetically perfected.
Is’phukphuku
Mx Blouse, South Africa, 2018, Music Video, Running Time: 3 min 29 sec.
Translating from the Zulu word for “idiot”, ‘Is’phukphuku’ strives to call out those who inflict harmful judgements on others. The genre-bending mix of African rhythms and electronic chords empowers Blouse’s presence in male and female hairdressing shops. This breaks past the biases that exist in the importance we endow in our physical features, like our hair, to define ourselves.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Untitled
Lisa Brice (2020), South Africa, Gouache and synthetic tempera on canvas mounted onto wooden panel, 202 x 97 cm, Green Family Art Foundation.
Brice goes against the art historical narrative where women are passive, by painting women who have agency. The naked woman appears confident without being portrayed in a sexual manner: this painting is not for the male gaze. The cigarette can be read as a symbol that she does not conform to expectations set by men. Meanwhile, the colour blue is used to hide the identity of the subject: anybody can be a confident woman like this.
Xhosa Woman - Umfazi
Tony Gum, South Africa, 2017, C-type fuji crystal archival print, dibond mounted, 146 x 97 cm, Private Collection
This artwork is part of a larger collection of artworks entitled 'Ode to She'. Each artwork within this collection speaks to how Xhosa womanhood manifests itself differently, depending both on the context and the time of life they find themselves in. By focusing on what it means to be both Xhosa and a woman, we are drawn to reflect on how our understanding of femininity is culturally specific rather than universal.
In the Midst of Chaos, There is Opportunity
Mary Sibande (2017), South-Africa, Life-size mannequin, life-size fiberglass horse, life-size toy soldiers, polyester fiberfill stuffing, cotton fabric, painted wood, fiberglass and resin, 800 x 400 x 20 cm.
The central figure in the work is Sibande’s alter-ego, Sophie. Her Victorian dress refers to Sibande’s female relatives who were forced to be domestic workers. By putting Sophie on a staggering horse she appears as a strong woman with agency; the narrative of Black women is reclaimed. Instead of picturing male soldiers Sibande opts for women. As such, she challenges the male-centred history of South Africa.
I volunteered to put together the online platform from which we would present our exhibition. We decided as a group that Prezi would be a good online platform that would allow viewers to interact with our exhibition in whichever way they wanted; whether that be chronologically or freely.
Due to the inclusion of large installations and tall sculptures, I thought it would be a good idea to add human figures next to the installation in order to appreciate the scale of the works themselves. I believe this added a unique aspect to our exhibition, as well as provided an experience that was as close to what the viewers would have seen if it were in person.