And she was wearing trousers

From the curators

Roberta Joy Rich and Naomi Velaphi

Archives that speak of copper wire, liberation, teachers, linguists and queens, of women who we should know but don’t know, are constructed through colonised frames and histories. The title, translated from lyrics of Dorothy Masuka’s song ‘Nolishwa,’ And she was wearing trousers reimagines the possibilities of African heroines in Southern African history through a series of exchanges of text and dialogue between Southern African artists; between those living on the continent and those from the diaspora. How do we hear of them? What do we learn from them?

A culmination of a series of conversations with women of the African diaspora and those on the continent, we examine how female figures in Southern African histories can serve as entry points into reimagining a Bla(c)k female experience in the past and future. These women are often framed as contentious, yet their contributions to society are influential, equivocal and are important African women’s voices to platform, share and learn from. The power of interpretation and nuance creates a space for tension, discovery and continuity and allows us to creatively explore our relationships with these women, and the proximity we share with them.

Detail of an arched window appearing within a stone colonial era building, has maroon wooden window skirtings. On the window is a vinyl print in black and white, of a many braids making a right angle, and monochrome hands emerging from the braids making a clapping gesture. The sun is hitting the building creating shadows frmo trees not visible on the right side.

Detail of a vitrine with books, text and photograph inside. The books are titled Women Writing Africa: The Southern Region and Women in Southern Africa.

A dark room has a vitrine table in the foreground housing a collection of photos, texts and books, and a film projection of an African woman wearing all white is lying within a rocky environment on the screen.

A dark room has a spotlit timber wood frame structure on the left, with a small monitor screen mounted upon it, faces a large flatscreen monitor on the right that shows an instagram direct message conversation.

A dark room bordered with black curtains and wooden floorboards has installations of pine timber frame structures with speakers mounted within the structure. A video projection hangs above with an abstract drawing in red hues and background with shades of blue.

Installation photos by Jody Haines.

Catalogue Essay

Santilla Chingaipe

Memeza (2022)

Singer, songwriter and activist Brenda Fassie was sometimes known as ‘the Madonna of the Townships’, ‘the Queen of African Pop,’ and ‘Ma Brr’. Hands are taken from images of Brenda Fassie, a Southern African icon, with sources ranging from album covers, posters, music video stills and press photographs, used to present the different modes of the freedom fighter.

The base of the work is typographic, each letterform is built up from a series of modules that carry the motif of cornrows or hair braids or plaits. A major concern of research is how to speak about such modes of production as technologies, drawing parallels between African hair braiding practices and digital image making processes.

An old colonial building has a large shadow cast on it from a tree. Three arched windows have artworks with black on white designs that look like cornrows and braids that create the letters E, M, E. There are arms within the letters doing various gestures. Below the windows are large red letters that spell out Arts House.

One time pointing and at other times praying, punching the air, grasping, clapping and caressing, the work is inspired by Fassie’s song of the same title, 'Memeza'.

A street view shows the side of an old colonial building with an arched window. The window displays an artwork of black images on white background. It appears to be the letter A, made from a braid motif, with arms gesturing at the centre. In front of the window is the footpath with a tree to the left and traffic pole showing "Errol Street".

Detail of the artwork in the windows showing the braid and cornrow motif in black vinyl on a white surface.

Installation with adhesive vinyl on windows. Dimensions variable.

Installation views of Memeza at Arts House, 2022.

A pink room shows the back of a black woman with a shaved head, with her reflection visibale within a gold frame mirror. She has blue lipstick sitting crossed legged looking left, within a backdrop many packets of African hair extensions.

Nontsikelelo Mutiti is a Zimbabwean-born visual artist and educator. She is invested in elevating the work and practices of Black peoples past, present, and future through a conceptual approach to design, publishing, archiving practices, and institution building. Mutiti holds a diploma in multimedia from the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts (ZIVA) and an MFA from the Yale School of Art, with a concentration in graphic design.

Image credit - Jasper Kettner
Installation photos by Jody Haines

Santilla Chingaipe

What Mam Dorothy taught me

Public Program

Artist talks and conversations

Naomi Velaphi

An archive; a process

Roberta Joy Rich

Auntie's Curtain

From the curators

Roberta Joy Rich and Naomi Velaphi

Installation photos by Jody Haines.

To get in contact please email naomivelaphi@gmail.com or roberta.joy.rich@gmail.com

And she was
wearing trousers:
a call to our heroines

Nontsikelelo Mutiti

Memeza (2022)

And she was wearing trousers: a call to our heroines

Nontsikelelo Mutiti

Memeza (2022)

And she was
wearing trousers:
a call to our heroines