Sethembile Msezane: Living sculptures that stand for history's truths
Sethembile Msezane: Esculturas vivientes que defienden las verdades de la Historia
Sethembile Msezane deconstructs the act of public commemoration -- how it creates myths, constructs histories, includes some and excludes others. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
para imaginar esto conmigo.
to imagine this with me.
very little context,
a figment of your own imagination.
un producto de tu fantasía.
no puedes evitar preguntarte:
that reflect upon our society,
que reflexionan sobre nuestra sociedad,
how a young black girl can grow up
una joven negra puede crecer
and perhaps she doesn't exist.
y que tal vez no exista.
positive images of themselves
una imagen positiva de sí mismos
are negative stereotypes,
los estereotipos negativos,
that the rest of society treats them.
en la que la sociedad les trata.
for about five years at the time.
en Ciudad del Cabo durante cinco años.
of dislocation and invisibility.
de estar fuera de lugar y ser invisible.
que me habían educado,
South Africa what it is today.
lo que es hoy.
ever as neutral as they may seem.
son tan neutros como pueden parecer.
this performance in 2013 on Heritage Day.
esta representación en 2013
with masculine architecture,
de arquitectura masculina,
en esa fotografía.
and Afrikaner nationalist men
de colonialistas blancos
social, de género y de raza,
gender and racial divide,
the way that women --
en la forma en que la que las mujeres...
to dominant male figures
and the act of remembering
y el acto de recordar
and effective ways.
de formas más memorables y efectivas.
public holiday series,
de actuaciones en festivos nacionales,
as a form of social commentary
como forma de crítica social
to certain issues,
a ciertos problemas,
of the black female body
ausencia del cuerpo de la mujer negra
to the union buildings in 1956,
los edificios gremiales en 1956,
of how women are treated,
del trato hacia las mujeres,
hoy en día,
en una parada de taxi]
como Freedom Square,
de las manifestaciones
against apartheid laws.
con que las mujeres fuesen vistas
being seen as only victims in society.
cómo reaccionó la gente a esto.
how people reacted to this.
my performances,
a través de mis actuaciones,
reflexionen sobre su sociedad,
reflect upon their society,
así como a su democracia actual.
as well as the current democracy.
She's been there since three o'clock.
Lleva aquí desde las tres.
Desde poco antes de las tres.
About an hour still?
are quick to join a group
se une rápido a un grupo,
a hacer algo como individuo.
to do something as an individual.
frente al colectivo.
versus the collective.
su propio mensaje en una representación...
individual message in performance ...
that she's doing it on her own.
que lo esté haciendo por su cuenta.
sus extensiones de pelo como alas,
she's using hair extensions as wings,
there right now,
ahí ahora mismo,
African pride, I think.
mientras Rhodes cae,
represents the African culture.
representa la cultura africana.
all these colonial statues.
todas estas estatuas colonialistas.
nuestras propias estatuas ahora,
Bhambatha, Moshoeshoe, Kwame Nkrumah --
-- Bhambatha, Moshoeshoe, Kwame Nkrumah --
for our liberation.
por nuestra libertad.
en nuestro país.
Maybe in a museum; not here.
Tal vez en un museo; no aquí.
places where young people,
instituciones de aprendizaje,
están siendo formadas.
Rhodes, all these people,
a Louis Botha, Rhodes, toda esta gente,
the colonialism.
de 2015,
was scheduled to be removed
de la estatua de Cecil John Rhodes
for and against its removal
si quitarla o no
in statues in South Africa.
el interés por las estatuas en Sudáfrica.
focused on problematizing
pero la prensa se centró
la remoción de las estatuas.
I had just begun my master's
mi maestría
of the debate of the statue,
sobre la estatua,
y a través de la ropa.
a meeting with my supervisors,
iban a quitar la estatua.
was going to fall on that day.
as the statue came down.
una piedra tallada,
that was looted from Great Zimbabwe
in Cecil John Rhodes's estate
en Ciudad del Cabo.
usando mi cuerpo,
for nearly four hours.
durante casi cuatro horas.
on their phones and cameras.
la caída de Cecil John Rhodes
of Cecil John Rhodes.
as he became absent from his base,
cuando desapareció de su base,
se ha alzado en Sudáfrica.
has arisen in South Africa.
en el mismo espacio y tiempo
in the same space and time
beliefs and dreams
y mis sueños
está incompleta.
felt incomplete.
de Dios y los ancestros,
of God and the ancestors,
en mis sueños
a little bit more,
comparten una misma historia
share a common story
que fueron robadas de la Gran Zimbabue.
that were looted from Great Zimbabwe.
se devolvieron al monumento.
were returned to the monument.
de que no habrá descanso
that there will be unrest
sea devuelto.
el mundo que me rodea:
about the world around me:
and not only see an image of myself,
y no solo veo mi reflejo,
que me han hecho como soy hoy.
who have made me who I am today.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sethembile Msezane - ArtistSethembile Msezane deconstructs the act of public commemoration -- how it creates myths, constructs histories, includes some and excludes others.
Why you should listen
With masked face and powerful gestures, Sethembile Msezane disrupts and deconstructs the process of commemorative practice in South Africa, demanding space next to colonial-era statues for her country's, and her gender's, erased histories. In one iconic work, she performed at the removal of the John Cecil Rhodes statue at the University of Cape Town ("Chapungu: The Day Rhodes Fell," 2015), and starting in 2013 she performed a series of pieces called "Public Holiday" that place her body in contrast to colonial-era monuments in Cape Town's CBD.
Msezane is a ANTI Festival International Prize for Live Art nominee (2017). She is the TAF & Sylt Emerging Artist Residency Award winner (2016), and she is the first recipient of the Rising Light award at the Mbokodo Awards. She is also a a Barclays L’Atelier Top 10 Finalist (2016). Her 2017 solo show at Gallery MOMO is titled "Kwasuka Sukel: Re-imagined Bodies of a (South African) '90s Born Woman", and features sculptural work that places colonial images in the context of Victorian-style furniture and dress, reframing and reclaiming a part of colonial history. She was one of the selected artists for gallery solo projects at the FNB Joburg Art Fair (2017), and her work is currently housed in the Zeitz MOCAA collection as well as Iziko South African National Gallery's collection.
Selected group shows include "Women's Work and The Art of Disruptions" at the Iziko South African National Gallery (2016), "Dis(colour)ed Margins" at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (2017), "Re[as]sisting Narratives" at Framer Framed, Amsterdam (2016), "Dance, if you want to enter my country!/ Global Citizen" at GoetheOnMain, Johannesburg (2016), "Nothing Personal" at SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, #theopening at Greatmore Studios, Cape Town (2016) and "Translations" at Emergent Art Space and Reed College, Portland, Oregon (2015).
Sethembile Msezane | Speaker | TED.com