Sethembile Msezane: Living sculptures that stand for history's truths
Sethembile Msezane: Esculturas vivas que exibem verdades da História
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.
to imagine this with me.
imaginem uma coisa comigo.
very little context,
a figment of your own imagination.
produto da vossa imaginação.
quando as pessoas falam comigo?"
para uma criança, não são?
that reflect upon our society,
que refletem sobre a nossa sociedade,
how a young black girl can grow up
como uma menina negra pode crescer
and perhaps she doesn't exist.
e que talvez não exista.
positive images of themselves
imagens positivas de si mesmos,
are negative stereotypes,
são estereótipos negativos,
that the rest of society treats them.
como o resto da sociedade os trata.
for about five years at the time.
durante cerca de cinco anos.
of dislocation and invisibility.
de estar deslocada e de ser invisível.
que me criaram,
South Africa what it is today.
o que ela é hoje.
quanto a isso.
quando veem isto?
a cidade em que vivem?
que histórias são omitidas?
ever as neutral as they may seem.
tão neutros como podem parecer.
this performance in 2013 on Heritage Day.
em 2013, no Dia da Herança.
with masculine architecture,
de arquitetura masculina,
naquela fotografia.
and Afrikaner nationalist men
e dos nacionalistas africanos
sexista e racial,
gender and racial divide,
the way that women --
a forma como as mulheres
to dominant male figures
às figuras masculinas dominantes
and the act of remembering
e o ato de recordar
and effective ways.
de formas mais memoráveis e eficazes.
public holiday series,
de feriados públicos ao longo do ano,
as a form of social commentary
como forma de crítica social
para certos problemas
to certain issues,
a ausência do corpo feminino negro
of the black female body
to the union buildings in 1956,
até ao edifício da União em 1956,
of how women are treated,
com que as mulheres são tratadas,
atualmente,
quanto a isso.
atacadas em praça de táxis"
em KwaLanga.
a Praça da Liberdade,
against apartheid laws.
na manifestação
being seen as only victims in society.
que as mulheres fossem vistas
how people reacted to this.
reagiram a isto.
my performances,
das minhas atuações,
reflect upon their society,
refletissem sobre a sociedade,
as well as the current democracy.
assim como para a atual democracia.
She's been there since three o'clock.
Ela está ali desde as 3 horas.
Mais uma hora ainda?
About an hour still?
are quick to join a group
está disposta a aderir a um grupo
para qualquer coisa,
to do something as an individual.
a fazer qualquer coisa, individualmente.
frente ao coletivo.
versus the collective.
individual message in performance ...
uma mensagem individual,
that she's doing it on her own.
ela fazer aquilo sozinha.
she's using hair extensions as wings,
que ela usa extensões de cabelo como asas
que aquelas coisas significam.
there right now,
African pride, I think.
o orgulho africano.
enquanto Rhodes cai,
represents the African culture.
representa a cultura africana.
all these colonial statues.
todas estas estátuas coloniais.
Bhambatha, Moshoeshoe, Kwame Nkrumah --
Bhambatha, Moshoeshoe, Kwame Nkrumah,
for our liberation.
a nossa libertação.
no século XXI,
Maybe in a museum; not here.
talvez num museu, mas aqui não.
places where young people,
estão a ser formados.
Rhodes, all these people,
Louis Botha, Rhodes, toda essa gente,
the colonialism.
was scheduled to be removed
da estátua de Cecil John Rhodes,
for and against its removal
a favor e contra essa remoção
in statues in South Africa.
pelas estátuas na África do Sul.
focused on problematizing
concentraram-se na problemática
I had just begun my master's
o meu mestrado
of the debate of the statue,
do debate sobre a estátua,
e através da minha roupa.
a meeting with my supervisors,
uma reunião com os meus orientadores
was going to fall on that day.
ia ser apeada nesse dia.
as the statue came down.
enquanto a estátua era apeada.
that was looted from Great Zimbabwe
que tinha sido roubada do Grande Zimbabué
in Cecil John Rhodes's estate
na propriedade de Cecil John Rhodes,
usando o meu corpo,
for nearly four hours.
durante quase quatro horas.
on their phones and cameras.
nos telemóveis e máquinas fotográficas.
of Cecil John Rhodes.
a queda de Cecil John Rhodes.
as he became absent from his base,
quando ele saiu do pedestal,
has arisen in South Africa.
uma nova geração de radicais.
in the same space and time
no mesmo espaço e tempo,
beliefs and dreams
e sonhos espirituais
felt incomplete.
de Champungu estava incompleta.
of God and the ancestors,
de Deus e dos antepassados,
a história dela.
a little bit more,
o espaço do sonho
share a common story
partilham uma história comum
that were looted from Great Zimbabwe.
que foram roubadas ao Grande Zimbabué.
were returned to the monument.
foram devolvidas ao monumento.
that there will be unrest
de que não haverá sossego
about the world around me:
sobre o mundo que me rodeia,
and not only see an image of myself,
e não só vejo a minha imagem,
who have made me who I am today.
que me fizeram tal como sou hoje.
tenha que sentir que não existe.
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