Description

Benzile Okhokho (The Foremothers Have Done the Work) is an offering of gratitude, remembrance and recognition. The sculpture honours generations of Ndzundza Ndebele women, the matriarchs in my family, and broader community of women, whose lives, labour, knowledge and sacrifices have made my own possible. They fought battles, carried responsibilities and made sacrifices that opened doors they themselves may never have had the opportunity to walk through. The sculpture draws on uMgwalo, the visual language through which Ndzundza Ndebele women have recorded histories, preserved knowledge and affirmed cultural identity through mural painting and beadwork. The elongated neck adorned with dzillas (the traditional copper neck rings) associated with married Ndzundza Ndebele women, locates the figure within this lineage. Its deliberate facelessness speaks to the women behind this legacy, whose artistic and intellectual contributions have often been appropriated, commercialised and celebrated without their names, recognition or compensation. The elongated nature of the necks offers a resistance, it insists on their presence and visibility, reclamation, and acknowledgement of ukwenza ko Khokho.