Senzeni Marasela (South African 1977 - ) THEODORAH IN JHB B

Estimate

R30,000 - R40,000

Hammer

R32,000

Senzeni Marasela (South African 1977 - ) THEODORAH IN JHB B

More Information

used dress with embroidery, stitching and
needlecraft
106 by 63cm, unframed

PROVENANCE
Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg

Senzeni Marasela’s Theodorah comes to Johannesburg series perpetuates the lasting ripple effect of the Apartheid era and the current prevailing systematic trauma inflicted on black woman in South Africa. She aims to pay homage to the everyday black woman who lived a narrative of oppression, marginalization, injustice, and segregation during Apartheid.

The figure of “Theodorah” is a persona Marasela has based on her mother’s own experience of Apartheid. In this series of artwork Marasela, dressed as her mother, retraces her footsteps and journey through Johannesburg. She depicts this expedition in various photographic stills, but her work has spread to mediums such as embroidery and needle work.

Marasela’s mother moved from the Eastern Cape to Johannesburg after marriage and found the external reality of Apartheid, combined with her ongoing struggle with schizophrenia, unbearable. Although her mother was never a domestic worker, she uses this attire to challenge the notion of representation and the catalyst effect it has on the formation of identity.

In Maresla’s series she photographs herself in areas entrenched in the historical legacy of Apartheid giving her character not only a sense of agency but a voice within a space where black woman where previously silenced. She acknowledges that certain areas in Johannesburg not only represent a legacy of misplacement and marginalisation but continues to reflect a turbulent political landscape. There is an understanding by Maresela that she cannot replicate her mother’s experience entirely because of the generational gap and political differences. Her work addresses the blatant continuum of racial socio-political displacement for black communities as an effect of Apartheid and simultaneously looks at the current yet ever-present threat of violence towards black women in South Africa. This creates a parallel between the everyday South African black female’s lived experience and that of her mother.

Marasela uses “Theodorah” as a vehicle to navigate the indignation of black women whilst simultaneously evoking a sense of agency to her mother’s own lived experience. The narrative which she creates through ‘Theodorah’ is not only a personally cathartic journey but one that emphasizes the collective traumatic discourse of black communities and the brutalization of black identities.

Marasela was recently honored with a retrospective exhibition in the Zeitz MOCAA from 18 December 2020 to 2 May 2021. The latter retrospective exhibition is currently on show at the Johannesburg Art Gallery.

Das, J. “Senzeni Marasela: My work is rooted in Johannesburg”, in Ocula Magazine, 2021. [O]. See: https://ocula.com/magazine/conversations/senzeni-marasela-my-work-is-rooted-in-johannesburg/

Khan, S. “Postcolonial Masquerading: A critical analysis of masquerading strategies in the artworks of contemporary South African visual artists Anton Kannemeyer, Tracey Rose, Mary Sibande, Senzeni Marasela and Nandipha Mntambo” Goldsmiths, University of London, 2014.

Khan, S. “Thinking Through Black Feminist Creative Visualization through the Postcolonial Masquerades of South African Visual Artists Mary Sibande and Senzeni Marasela” in “Sasinda Futhi Siselapha (Still Here): Black feminist approaches to cultural studies in South Africa’s Twenty-six years since 1994”. pp 23 -50. Africa World Press, United States of America, 2021