Buhlebezwe Siwani
Buhlebezwe Siwani (*1987 in Johannesburg, South Africa), who lives and works in Cape Town and Amsterdam, grew up in Johannesburg, though due to her nomadic upbringing has also lived in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. In 2015 she completed her MFA at the Michaelis School of Fine Arts, Cape Town. Siwani has exhibited at the Michaelis Galleries in Cape Town and has been featured most recently in site-specific installations and exhibitions at the Gwangju Biennale, South Korea, Culture Summit Abu Dhabi, and the Kunstinstituut Melly in Rotterdam.
Her work is represented by Galeria Madragoa, Lisbon. Siwani engages in performative practices that can manifest as installations, sculpture, painting, video, and/or photography. The thematic focus of her work is an exploration of the Black female body, with pieces that analyze and visualize both traditions and current forms of African spirituality and their relationship to Christianity. In her performances, Siwani often poses questions about what African spirituality truly means while interrogating its relationship with colonization, historical narratives, socio-economic conditions, traditional culture, as well as Black female corporeality. She turns her eye to the ways in which these relations play out in today’s world, how bodies and movements relate to memory, and to the stereotypes of femininity and Black identity that ask to be redefined.
The exploration of the Black female body represents the gravitational center of Buhlebezwe Siwani’s artistic work. Another central focus, closely related to this, is the reinterpretation and translation into the present day of African spirituality, which is in contrast to the Christian traditions that came to South Africa during its colonization.
Intertwined in this is Siwani’s examination of the patriarchal social structures and representations of the female body that asserted themselves in the Black female experience in South Africa. In these works, it is the artist’s own body that acts as subject, object, form, medium, material, and language.
Siwani – who works simultaneously in performance, photography, sculpture, installation, and film – initially emerged with performances that acted out her experience as a Black artist living with one foot in South Africa and the other in Europe, works which critically exposed the stereotypical reactions of certain viewers. Another aspect of the performative works deals with her attempts to translate the spiritual traditions of her African cultural heritage in new and individual ways into her day-to-day actions in European life. Siwani places ancestral rituals into relation with modern life. In this way, she tackles social and political issues such as the history of colonization, Black communities, and experiences of alienation in a present shaped by technology and digitalization.
“When I began my work – and it hasn’t changed – it was under the umbrella of spirituality. What African spirituality really means and how it speaks to colonization, history, socio-economic conditions, tradition, the Black female body. And how all of that takes effect in the present world where we have manifested ourselves as human beings. I just started thinking about the things we construct and the things that have been constructed for us and the ways in which the Black female body is through ubungoma.” (B.S.)
The term ubungoma occupies the spiritual center out from which many of Siwani’s works have developed. Ubungoma is a deeply rooted spiritual and cultural tradition in Southern Africa. It originates in South African Zulu culture, where it refers to the healing practices of traditional medicine as well as spiritual practice in general. Those who live in and with ubungoma can acts as sangoma, healers or shamans. The sangoma are able to communicate with the ancestral spirits and convey their messages to members of the community in need of advice or healing. During a kind of initiation phase, sangomas must go through periods of intense spiritual deepening.
Siwani’s materials—fabrics, robes, mirrors, soap, natural objects, as well as her own body – can often be read in the context of rituals and practices concerning the processes both of becoming and of passing away, of birth and of death. As an initiated sangoma, Siwani operates in the space of the dead and the living. She explores from varying perspectives the clash between modern faith and traditional ritual, between African spirituality and Christianity. By combining her practice as a spiritual healer with her artistic practice and her own, individual spiritual life, Siwani intentionally opens herself to questions of identity and self. Her actions, behaviors, materials, and performances reveal the associative and semantic richness through an intertwining of the indigenous practices of her homeland, ancient practices suppressed by colonial rule in South Africa, with Western forms of spirituality.
“It’s about the direct relationship between the land, the Black body, and the spirit. I’m interested in traditions and practices centered around Black culture, particularly IsiZulu. It takes into account how Black people practice their own spiritual forms.” (B.S)
The critical awareness out from which Siwani works is described by the artist as the “problem of Christianity having demonized our indigenous practices.” In this way, her videos and photographic works can also be understood as speaking of the disappearance of the culture, spirituality, and history that were passed down to her in South Africa.
“Being a sangoma is very much a part of my spiritual journey and my art-making journey. I think that part of my ancestral calling is to make work about this, so that people can see another side. We’re constantly dealing with the politics of identity, but not thinking through the politics of the spirit that has to do a lot with identity: identity is linked very much to the spirit, when the spirit is gone, what identity do you have left? All my work has to do with the journey of finding oneself through indigenous practices, looking at history, looking at culture, through who I am: a Black female body.” (B.S.)
**On the Works by Buhlebezwe Siwani in the Exhibition **(s. Installation Views)
Mnguni, 2019
In the 3-part photo work Mnguni the artist herself is depicted in three positions during a performance on a beach in the Netherlands, showing the attitudes of a ritualized action. As the work title Mnguni suggests, the performance refers to the Nguni, an indigenous community in South Africa. Siwani links historical, economic, and colonial relationships between South Africa and the Netherlands. Mnguni is a mythical figure that serves as a symbol of the origins and cultural unity of the Nguni peoples, which in South Africa include the Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, and Ndebele. Siwani herself translates this term as “The child returned to the mother.” Siwani explains that “the land speaks volumes about who we are and how things evolve and who has been there. It speaks about the trials and tribulations. Especially in South Africa, where people have been uprooted and land taken from them, how do you say home if you have always known home to belong to a former master?” (B.S.)
In Mnguni, the artist’s body, movement, and clothing evoke relationships and conflicts, but also the power of her connection as a sangoma to her ancestors.
Izintaba, 2023
In a new group of canvas paintings, Siwani works with a greenish soap on light, occasionally earth-colored backgrounds. The title of the series, Izintaba, a word in the South African Zulu language, means “mountain/mountains”. However, the word is also used symbolically in the sense of facing obstacles and challenges with strength. In her works, Bulebezwe Siwani has repeatedly referred to rituals of mourning, leave-taking, and commemoration of the deceased, which she experienced in South Africa in the context of religious communities. This becomes materially vivid via the specially designed ceramic bowls, as well as the soap, sacred ashes, clay, oil, and other elements she uses in her installations and films. These are objects, items, and organic materials that are stand-ins for things absent: they are simulacra. Existing beyond the confines of figurative depiction, these materials act as representatives, as cathartic elements that can reveal a reality apart. Based on this artistic-spiritual practice, Siwani has worked in recent years on life-size sculptures of her own body constructed from soap as well as on Izintaba series, landscape-like paintings using soap with a watercolor-like technique.
Bageze ngobisi 1, 2022
In her work, Buhlebezwe Siwani repeatedly deals with patriarchal social structures and the depictions of the female body that emerge as a result. In Bageze ngobisi 1, Siwani’s body becomes the visual arena of the male gaze, which she confidently confronts, only to, in a next step, reject and deflect such projections through her own gaze and the position she occupies therein. The photograph – one in a series of self-portraits and group portraits of nude Black women – evokes the iconic motif of the female supine nude in art history. The reclining or seated female nude is a motif that has been firmly anchored in the classical artistic repertoire for centuries. Two oft-mentioned examples from the Renaissance models immediately come to mind: the Pastoral Concert, ca. 1510, which has been attributed to both Giorgione and Titian, and Titian’s Venus of Urbino, 1538. Three direct references for Siwani’s photograph could be Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres’ Grand Odalisque, from 1814, Édouard Manet’s scandalous Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe, from 1863, as well as Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu couché (sur le côté gauche), from 1917, which itself in turn refers back to Ingres. In all three of these paintings, the woman turns confidently and with direct eye contact towards the painter and we the viewers. In this way, the model can be seen to reject her status as the object of our voyeurism and instead enacts her own self-determined femininity. In the 19th century, another aspect was added: the reclining female nude was joined by Black servants, slaves who emphasize in this visual confrontation the differences in skin color and social status depicted. The painting by Manet, Olympia, 1863, is well-known, but Black servant figures also appear in paintings by Gérôme, Ingres, and Delacroix. Here, too, Siwani inverts the history of this motif by taking the place of the sitter with her own (Black) body. The title of her photograph, Bageze ngobisi, adds a further ironic accent. In the South African Zulu dialect, it means “they have bathed her in milk,” a phrase that expresses qualities of beauty and flawlessness in a body.
“I think women in positions of power have been broken to take away their power and make them more accessible. It’s not fair to expect women to be so accessible. Let the woman be who she is. And if she’s powerful, let her be powerful. It’s really important for me to bring that to the forefront, especially in photos or in videos: I will look back. It’s important to look back because not many women have gotten that opportunity.” (B.S.)
Education
2014-2015
Master of Fine Arts, Michaelis School of Fine Arts, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, ZA
2006-2011
Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts (Hons.), Wits School of Arts, The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, ZA
Solo Exhibitions
2023
IYEZA, Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, ZA
2022
iYeza, National Arts Festival, Makhanda, ZA
Amanzi angena endlini, Galeria Madragoa, Lisbon, PT
Impilo Inegama, NMAG, Amsterdam, NL
2021
Dedisa Ubumnyama, Cairns Art gallery, Cairns City, AU
2020
Inkanyamba, curated by Filipa Oliveira, Galeria Municipal de Arte de Almada, PT
2019
Othunjiweyo, Galeria Madragoa, Lisbon, PT
2018
iNcence, NMAG, Amsterdam, NL
Qab’Imbola, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, SA
2017
Imfazwe yenkaba, Madragoa, Lisbon, PT
The House, Twil Art Studios, Johannesburg, SA
2016
Ingxowa yegqwirhakazi, WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town, ZA
2015
Imfihlo, Graduate Exhibition, Michaelis Galleries, Cape Town, ZA
Group Exhibitions
2024
voices from abroad, Behncke Gallery, Munich, DE
2023
My Oma, Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam, NL
SEEKERS, SEERS, SOOTHSAYERS, Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, ZA
soft and weak like water, 14th Gwangju Biennial, Gwangju, KR
Deep Blue, Bienal de Fotografia do Porto, Museu do Porto, PT
Let me tell you a story, Akara Art, Mumbai, IN
Who are we if not nature, M.Bassy, Hamburg, DE
The Power of My Hands, Museu Nacional de Història, Luanda, AO
Black Skin, White Masks, Galerias Municipais Lisboa, PT
Chrysalis: The Butterfly Dream, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva, CHE
L’Art dans la Cité, Foundation Dapper, Abidjan, CIV
2022
I Could Eat You, a collaborative exhibition by Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, Madragoa and Clearing at Casa da Cultura, Comporta, PT
Spier light festival, Cape Town, ZA
iNzunza, ICA, Cape Town, ZA
Where shall we place the placenta, A Tale Of A Tub, Rotterdam, NL
A Clearing in the Forest, TATE Modern, London, UK
All Eyes, AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Amsterdam, NL
2021
Rethinking Nature, Museo Madre, Napoli, IT
Goddesses of healing, M.Bassy, Hamburg, DE
Force Times Distance On Labour And It’s Sonic Ecologies, Sonsbeek, Arnhem, NL
Living, Forgiving, Remembering, Kunsthall Bergen, Bergen, NO
The Power of My Hands. Africa(s): Women Artists, Musee D’Art Moderne De La Ville De Paris, Paris, FR
If Yesterday was tomorow that is today, Bode Project, Berlin, DE
2020
The power of my hands, Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, FR
Viral portraits, Moderna gallerija/Museum of Modern Art, Ljubjana, Slovenia, SI
Materiality, Iziko National Gallery, Cape Town, ZA
Instructions for life among invisible barriers, Galeria Madragoa, Lisbon, PT
Now Look Here, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, NL
The power of my hands, Musee d´Art Modern de la Ville de Paris, Paris, FR
2019
Cosmopolis #2, Rethinking the Human, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, FR
Our Selfie, MO Museum, Vilnius, LT
CONDO São Paulo, Galeria Madragoa at Luciana Brito Galeria, São Paulo, BR
2018
Tell Freedom, 15 South African artists, Kunsthale Kade, NL
Approx., Madragoa at Condo London, Sadie Coles HQ, The Shop, London, UK
Continental Drift, Cairns Art Gallery, Queensland, AU
2017
ano zero’17, Coimbra biennale, Coimbra, PT
O céu dos oblíquos, Madragoa, Lisbon, PT
Deep Memory, Kalmar Art Museum, SE
Being There, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, FR
Ukutshona kuka Mendi, CAS Gallery, Cape Town, ZA
Michaelis Master’s show, Michaelis galleries, Cape Town, ZA
2016
Figure, Blank Projects, Cape Town, ZA
Quiet Violence of Dreams, Stevenson, Cape Town, ZA
Imfazwe Yenkaba, ITC session 3, Langa, Cape Town, ZA
The Incantation of the Disquieting Muse – On Divinity, Parallel- and Suprarealities or the Exorcisement of Witchery, Savvy Contemporary, Berlin, DE
iQhiya, AVA, Cape Town, ZA
Indlovukazi, Njelele Art Station, Harare, ZW
2015
Graduate exhibition, Michaelis galleries, Cape Town, ZA
Revisiting the Latent Archive In Sites, Greatmore Studios, Cape Town, ZA
Towards Intersections, Negotiating Subjects, Objects and Contexts, Museum Africa, Johannesburg, ZA
2014
Scintilla, A show on Alchemy, Commune 1, Cape Town, ZA
Revisiting Sites, The Hostel, Cape Town, ZA
Between Subject and Object, GIPCA Live Arts Festival, Cape Town, ZA
Between Subject and Object, Michaelis Galleries, Cape Town, ZA
2012
Just Do It! Creative strategies of survival, Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, funded by APEX Art, New York, USA
2010
Martienssen Prize Award, Museum Africa, Johannesburg, ZA
Graduate exhibition, Maboneng Arts Precint, Johannesburg, ZA
Vessel, Wits Substation, Johannesburg, ZA
2007
Domestomorphisis, Wits School of Arts, Johannesburg, ZA
Performances
2023
Inhlambuluko, 14th Gwangju Biennial, KR
2021
iNzunza, Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, Paris, FR
2020
Inlovukazi, Woordfees, Stellenbosh, South Africa, ZA
Enemy of Progress, Bern, Switzerland, CH
Baqamille, Woordfees, Stellenbosch, South Africa, ZA
2019
Belluard Festival, Switzerland, CH
Sites of Memory, Amsterdam, HL
2018
those ghels, Santarcangelo Festival, Santarcangelo di Romagna, IT
Ngisacela Uk’thula, Company Gardens, Cape Town, ZA
2017
uKhongolose, Appleton Square, Lisbon, PT
RTTC, TAAC, Observatory, Cape Town, ZA
those ghels, Spielart festival, Munich, CH
those ghels, Theater Spektakel, Zurich, CH
Jikijela, iQhiya, Documenta 14, Kassel, Germany, DE
those ghels, Greatmore Studios, Cape Town, ZA
The Portrait, iQhiya, Documenta 14, Athens, GR
Deep Memory, Kalmar Art Museum, Sweden, SE
those ghels, ICA Live Arts Festival, Cape Town, ZA
Black Madonna, ICA Live Arts Festival, Cape Town, ZA
2016
Busuku benzolo, Labor Zero Labor, Triangle Arts, Marseille, FR
Reparations, Theater Spektakel, Zurich, CH
The Portrait, iQhiya, V&A, Cape Town, ZA
Qunusa!Buhle, Any Given Sunday, Khayelitsha, Cape Town, ZA
The Commute, iQhiya, Iziko National Museum, Cape Town, ZA
The Incantation of the Disquieting Muse On Divinity, Parallel and Suprarealities or the Exorcisement of Witchery, Savvy Contemporary, Berlin, DE
those ghels, Infecting the City, Cape Town, ZA
The Portrait, iQhiya, The Opening, Greatmore Studio’s, Cape Town, ZA
The Commute Part 2, iQhiya, ICA, Cape Town, ZA
Live Architecture, 55 Minute Hour, iJoowish (All the girls in their pretty dresses), Cape Town, ZA
2015
Beyond the line, Gallery MOMO, Cape Town, ZA
100 African Reads, Greenmarket square & De Waterkant, Cape Town, ZA
Ramp, Stevenson, Cape Town, ZA
Conjugal Visit, Alma Mater, Cape Town, ZA
Iqhiya Elimnyama,* Infecting the City*, Cape Town, ZA
Spill, Baxter Theatre Complex, Cape Town, ZA
Spill, Infecting the City, Cape Town, ZA
2014
Scintilla, A show on Alchemy, Commune 1, Cape Town, ZA
Chroma, Performance as part of Mawande Ka Zenzile’s portraits, Stevenson, Cape Town, ZA
My Body Is Not An Apology, Cape Town Artweek, Guga S’thebe, Langa, Cape Town, ZA
Iqhiya Elimnyama, Makukhanye Arts Room, Khayelitsha, Cape Town, ZA
Cabaret Crawl, GIPCA Live Arts Festival, Cape Town, ZA
Between Subject and Object, GIPCA Live Arts Festival, Cape Town, ZA
Credo, Freedom day celebrations, Artscape, Cape Town, ZA
2013
Inkululeko, Theatre Arts Admin Collective, Cape Town ZA
Inkululeko, Youngblood/Beautiful Life, Cape Town, ZA
Residencies
2017
Het Vijfde Seizoen, Amsefoort, NL
2016
Rote Fabrik, Pro Helvetia, Zurich, CH
2015
Watch and talk, Theater Spektakel, Zurich, CH
Awards
2024
Future Generation Art Prize (shortlisted)
2021
Standard Bank Young Artist Award
Theodora Niemeyer Prize, NL
2019
Bamako Encounters 12th Edition, ML
2015
Katarine Harries Print Cabinet Purchase Award
2010
Martienssen Prize Award
exhibitions
voices from abroad⎮Dhlamini, Okore, Siwani
November 9th, 2024 - February 8th, 2025
Dr. Renate Wiehager, curator of the exhibition
