Nandipha Mntambo was born in Swaziland (landlocked country in Southern Africa) in 1982. She graduated with a Masters degree in Fine Art with distinction from the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, in 2007. Her first solo exhibition, Ingabisa, took place at Michael Stevenson in 2007. She recently showcased her work at MCA for Sydney Biennale, 2010.
Work:
She mostly uses cowhides in her sculptures and installations, which she moulds around her body, and she even moulded around her mother's body. Her work is known to be about feminity, gender roles and poetics of the body. The work shown below, fig.1 titled Iqaba Lami, makes reference to the 19th-century dress incorporating the Victorian bustle adopted by the Herero women of Namibia.
fig.1 Iqaba Lami fig.2 Indlovukati
fig.1 Iqaba Lami fig.2 Indlovukati
View:
Even though the work is done around human bodies, and talks about beauty and feminity, it reminded me more about social and political changes that took place in Africa, which reminds me that it could have been under Arts and The Politics as well. It is mainly due to the mention of Victorian bustle and Herero women of Namibia. I had previously done a little research on Himba tribe of Namibia, and I saw a strong resemblance to Herero women. Their garments are made up of cowhides, and how Herero women's silhouette transformed into that of Victorian women. Garments represented a certain era and how it was influenced by the ruler and people of that era. This reminded me of colonisation of Africa. Her works to me represented an amalgamation of Herero tribe and Victorian era's silhouette, which alone shows the adaptation of western civilisation, a diminish of tribes in Africa.
Reference:
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