voices from abroad⎮Dhlamini, Okore, Siwani

On the Exhibition Concept

Dr. Renate Wiehager, curator of the exhibition

As the exhibition title suggests, this temporary gathering of current works by the three artists Mbali Dhlamini (SA), Nnenna Okore (AUS/NGR), and Buhlebezwe Siwani (SA) is not centered on a specific theme. This is, rather, an opportunity to experience an open dialogue between Black women artists who live in and work on the African continent, Europe, and the United States. In photographs, sculptures, and images, their bodies of work offer perspectives on contemporary forms of identity and spirituality as they reflect on issues of the post-colonial.

The exhibition presents around 20 works that together offer a broad, revealing spectrum of controversial, ever-expanding subjects: archetypes of the feminine, cosmic rhythms, cycles of individual lives, shifts in identity, and role-playing.

In a world of abstract and digital processes that undermine a lived knowledge of place and sense of permanence, many people seek a tactile, sensual experience in their encounters with art—an expression of the need for a culture that feels rooted in space, in the here and now. Contemporary trends in art itself seem likewise to be seeking out images that can be felt as well as seen.

Three overarching themes form links between the individual positions of the three artists: 
a reintegration of nature and culture through human agency; the post-colonial view: female gaze, female body; and contemporary forms of spirituality. The interest in these questions in this moment, made evident in the stories told and phenomena produced by contemporary culture, was the driving reason for bringing these three artists together.

Reintegration of Nature and Culture through Human Agency

Nnenna Okore is represented in the exhibition with ten examples of her floral-like wall pieces, all produced in 2024. These works, inspired by ecological and environmental philosophies, act to establish an intimate connection to nature. As she explains, “they visualize the planetary journey, the passing of time and the fleeting nature of the planet.”

Buhlebezwe Siwani’s materials—organic matter found in nature, manufactured goods, or her own body—in many places offer themselves to readings in a context of ritual or of practices concerned with processes of becoming and passing on, of birth and death. “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.”

Mbali Dhlamini’s critical research is centered on the testimonies and traditions of religious communities in Africa, their relationship to nature and to their own bodies, which she redefines for a contemporary cultural practice. 

The Post-Colonial View: Female Gaze, Female Body

In Nnenna Okore’s work, the body is rendered present through the time-consuming processes the artist engages in during the gathering and processing of her materials, as well as the gradual layering and interweaving in the sculptures themselves. On the other hand, Okore wants to address the body, the physical experience of the viewer, who are thus able to react to these works not only visually but also tactilely.

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 her reinterpretation and translation into the present day of African spirituality, which contrasts with the Christian traditions that came to South Africa during its colonization.

Mbali Dhlamini uses historical photographs of African women, whose titles suggest geographical, ethnographic, or cultural classifications, and exposes the discriminatory access of post-colonial visual testimonies. In other series, she uses her own body for her research.

Contemporary Forms of Spirituality

All of Nnenna Okore’s work is rooted in the traditions and creative practices of Igbo philosophy and spirituality as a lived, embodied experience that is shared by many people in Nigeria.

Buhlebezwe Siwani explores from varying perspectives the clash between modern faith and traditional ritual, specifically in the forms of African spirituality and Christianity. By combining her practice as a sangoma, a spiritual healer, with her artistic practice and her own personal relationship to the spiritual, Siwani offers herself up to examinations of identity and self.

The starting point of Mbali Dhlamini’s cultural research and artistic practice originates in the inextricably interwoven state of religious traditions in South Africa with current questions of post-colonial conditions. She interrogates contemporary forms of spirituality while reflecting on ancient traditions of indigenous philosophy and visual culture.