Artists We Love: Buhlebezwe Siwani

IMAGES Malibongwe Tyilo and Buhlebezwe Siwani

In 2015, Buhlebezwe Siwani completed her Masters degree in Fine Art from UCT’s Michaelis School of Fine Art, for which she received the Katrine Harris Prize for an Outstanding Body of Work.

With a practice that spans performance art, video, photography as well as installation, there has been no rest for this young artist. Thus far, 2016 has seen her travel, exhibit and perform locally, in Zimbabwe, as well Berlin, Germany. As we catch up with her, she is preparing to leave for Zurich on 24 July, where she will be on an artist residency until October. Amongst the subjects she explores in her work is womanism, patriarchy, as well as liminality, which is influenced by her own personal journey as a Sangoma.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am currently working on a new body of work, which gets me really excited. It is about African warrior queens and their link to umuthi (traditional medicine) and the land. I am clearly not deviating from my thematic matter, as it still engages with liminality, mortality and being a Sangoma. I am also very much exploring work that opposes patriarchy, specifically the idea that to be strong you have to be this masculine being.

I’m also getting ready for a show at the Stevenson, I have a sculpture going up in Johannesburg, as well as two pieces at their Cape Town gallery for The Quiet Violence of Dreams exhibition, which opens on 21 July.

Simultaneously I am also preparing for a perfomance at the [Zürcher] Theater Spektakel in Zurich. I got invited to this huge festival for performance, as one of 10 emerging artists that were chosen from around the world. I am one of two artists chosen from Africa, the other artist, Jeannot Kumbonyeki, is from the DRC. 

Please tell us more about the themes you explore in your work.

My subject matter is primarily about liminality, by that I mean the in between space I occupy as a Sangoma, the space between the living and the dead. Within that subject matter lies a number of very nebulous ideas. It may appear to be a tad bit complex at times, but which black female body that deals with ancestral issues is not complex? I’ve also always thought that being a Sangoma is queer in its own way. Now that I am working on a new body of work I can also play with that as well.

When not working, what do you do to wind down and relax?

I paint, as it helps me meditate. I think of new work while meditating, so really winding down is not realistic for me. I think artists cannot afford to relax, we are constantly thinking, that is why we are here. I can call it winding down and relaxing but even when I take a break over a glass of wine with my friends, I know that our chats are centred around important discourse. 

Your real life heroes?

My grandmothers and mother, they are the most generous, kind and warm people I know. People who come over always mention that our house is a home, it has a warmth to it. I should mention that they are the women they are because of our ancestors who are also my real life heroes. We are the women we are because of our ancestors. 

My best friend Lungile Rikhotso – we have grown up in front of each other and I am constantly in awe of the type of mother, lover, granddaughter and friend she is. Her grandmother is one of my favourites too. 

Who are of your favourite women artists? 

Berni Searle, Ana Medieta, Portia Zhavahera, Brenda Fassie, Frances Goodman, iQhiya, Tracey Rose, Jo Voysey, Nandipha Mntambo, Rihanna, FKA Twigs, Viola Davis, Coco Fusco, Carrie Mae Weems and Berry Bickle.

View more of Buhlebezwe’s work at buhlebezwesiwani.com.