ARTIST STATEMENT
The concept of witchcraft (Boloi/Boloyi) stems from a demonisation of traditional beliefs and customs. The stigma that exists around African spiritual and traditional practices has privileged a Western-translated, transferred Christianity, thus creating a binary between the two in the South African context. Â My practice draws from the premise of religious syncretism to realise the links, crossovers and realistic manifestations as re-enactments of both belief systems in the context of Johannesburg and South Africa as a whole. Both belief systems have a space in which the supernatural is present; both have the power to achieve the impossible for those who believe and desperately need spiritual guidance, healing and possibilities for a better future.
Welcome to Mamoloyi’s Universe. As we see the world through Mamoloyi’s eyes, she takes us on a journey through History. We see her role as a matriarch, a heroine, and constant looming power throughout the past, present and future. We are here to travel through time with her. To experience the endless options and possibilities of history and ideas about the universe. Mamoloyi is a fictional character who embarks on adventures with the help of her advisory Board (which consists of matriarchs Lebo Mathosa the queen of sound and Queen Modjadji the Rain Queen) where she presents “true†recollections and premonitions of the past and future to indicate the falsity and fluid nature of history and their recollections within a number of institutions and their claim to truisms. I created a body of work looking at this concept and within that body of work existed a sculptural installation that included a monumental statue of Lebo Mathosa’s reincarnated physical form adorned with armour from her adventures with Mamoloyi. This sculptural installation was meant to speak to the supernatural understanding of death as part of a cyclic journey. I would like to see this installation reimagined and portrayed within virtual reality with sound. I am hoping the work could speak to the ideas of death in many forms. Not just the idea of physical death but the death of ideology, perception and what we thought we knew the world as. The viewer would move through the virtual installation to discover, rediscover or unravel statements about the cyclic nature of these deaths and how they are essentially connected to conception and rebirth. Thus opening up probabilities to a reimagined/restructured future.
THIS WORK IS BASED ON...
The concept of witchcraft (Boloi/Boloyi) stems from a demonisation of traditional beliefs and customs. The stigma that exists around African spiritual and traditional practices has privileged a Western-translated, transferred Christianity, thus creating a binary between the two in the South African context. My practice draws from the premise of religious syncretism to realise the links, crossovers and realistic manifestations as re-enactments of both belief systems in the context of Johannesburg and South Africa as a whole. Both belief systems have a space in which the supernatural is present; both have the power to achieve the impossible for those who believe and desperately need spiritual guidance, healing and possibilities for a better future. Welcome to Mamoloyi’s Universe. As we see the world through Mamoloyi’s eyes, she takes us on a journey through history. We see her role as a matriarch, a heroine, and constant looming power throughout the past, present and future. We are here to travel through time with her. To experience the endless options and possibilities of history and ideas about the universe. Mamoloyi is a fictional character who embarks on adventures with the help of her advisory Board (which consists of matriarchs Lebo Mathosa, the queen of sound and Queen Modjadji, the rain queen) where she presents “true†recollections and premonitions of the past and future. My intention is for the work to speak to the ideas of death in many forms – not just physical death but the death of ideology, perception and what we thought we knew the world to be.
Photo Gallery
Mamello Miranda Makhetha
Malebona Maphutse is a Johannesburg-based artist with a BA (Fine Art) from Wits University. She works in and outside of the academic institution as a filmmaker and visual artist. She recently exhibited a series of video and film-based works at the Bergen Triennial 2019 (The Dead Are Not Dead), the Stellenbosch Triennial 2020 (Tomorrow There Will Be More Of Us) and at the online exhibition, Home As Parish  by Hangar Online Blankspace based in Lisbon, Portugal.
Malebona narrates history through her works on canvas, her sculptural installations, linocut and digital prints, and video works. Her digital collages and installations appropriate the visuals and language of street flyers, probing the historical debt of systemic oppression. Her work seeks to investigate how bodies transcend mere existence to understand the politics of space. Malebona’s inspiration is fuelled by the infinite and probable – options that can be drawn from how people move in these spaces, depending on their environments and variables.