MALEBONA MAPHUTSE
SIYAGODUKA: KA FLYING SAUCER BABEZ
Siyagoduka Means we are leaving or are on our way. It speaks to the nature of departure; whether it be in the physical sense or spiritual sense through death and ritual ascendance. While witnessing the forced and now declared illegal inhumane removals in Hangberg, Ocean View and Khayelitsha in Cape Town during the storm of COVID-19 I was reminded of the long history of forced removals in South Africa, and beyond, from the 1913 Land Act to the Tulsa Oklahoma Massacre. History has a cyclic recurrence that has a way of reminding us of the cracks in our systems of governance and existence. This prompted me to consider the process of coerced, forced or “voluntary” black migration due to unfavourable circumstance and living conditions, to find new life and prosperity. Siyagoduka is about being on the move and the journey that lies ahead. The work takes on science fiction, and dystopian aesthetics to speak to the extraordinary nature of the times we live in. I have imagined these outer-worldly expressions of travel through painting, and a 3D augmented reality interactive digital experience which can all be seen here.
We Don’t Die
We Multiply:
Siyagoduka ka
Spaceship
Babez. Interactive 3D
Installation. 2020.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Malebona Maphutse is a Johannesburg based multidisciplinary artist with a BA (Fine Art) Degree from the University of Witwatersrand. A recent Institute of Creative Arts fellow, her work has existed in/at several exhibitions, spaces, and happenings including the Bergen Triennial 2019 (The Dead Are Not Dead), and the Stellenbosch Triennial 2020 (Tomorrow There Will Be More Of Us).
︎: @bonny_maphutse
︎: @malebona.maphutse.art
