Sethembile Msezane: Living sculptures that stand for history's truths
Sethembile Msezane: Esculturas vivas que representam 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.
imaginem isto comigo.
to imagine this with me.
pergunta a si mesma:
very little context,
fruto de sua própria imaginação.
a figment of your own imagination.
deixar de se perguntar:
quando as pessoas falam comigo?"
para uma criança, não é mesmo?
que refletem sobre nossa sociedade,
that reflect upon our society,
como uma menina negra pode crescer
how a young black girl can grow up
e que talvez não exista.
and perhaps she doesn't exist.
positive images of themselves
imagens positivas de si mesmos,
são estereótipos negativos,
are negative stereotypes,
como o restante da sociedade os trata.
that the rest of society treats them.
durante cerca de cinco anos.
for about five years at the time.
de estar deslocada e de ser invisível.
of dislocation and invisibility.
que me criaram,
o que ela é hoje.
South Africa what it is today.
como se sentiriam?
são tão neutros como podem parecer.
ever as neutral as they may seem.
em 2013, no "Heritage Day".
this performance in 2013 on Heritage Day.
de arquitetura masculina,
with masculine architecture,
and Afrikaner nationalist men
e dos nacionalistas africanos
por classe social, gênero e etnia,
gender and racial divide,
a forma como as mulheres,
the way that women --
às figuras masculinas dominantes
to dominant male figures
e o ato de recordar
and the act of remembering
de modos mais memoráveis e eficazes.
and effective ways.
de feriados ao longo do ano,
public holiday series,
como forma de crítica social
as a form of social commentary
para certos problemas,
to certain issues,
a ausência do corpo feminino negro
of the black female body
estava próximo.
até o prédio do sindicato em 1956,
to the union buildings in 1956,
aos negros africanos.
com que as mulheres são tratadas,
of how women are treated,
públicos, atualmente,
atacadas em ponto de táxi.
fiz uma apresentação com seios à mostra,
"Freedom Square",
de passeatas contra as leis do apartheid.
against apartheid laws.
que as mulheres fossem vistas
being seen as only victims in society.
como as pessoas reagiram a isto.
how people reacted to this.
de minhas apresentações,
my performances,
refletissem sobre a sociedade,
reflect upon their society,
assim como para a democracia atual.
as well as the current democracy.
She's been there since three o'clock.
Cerca de uma hora parada?
About an hour still?
are quick to join a group
que seja um movimento em direção a algo,
para fazer alguma coisa individualmente.
to do something as an individual.
frente ao coletivo.
versus the collective.
uma mensagem individual na apresentação.
individual message in performance ...
ela fazer isso sozinha.
that she's doing it on her own.
extensões de cabelo como asas
she's using hair extensions as wings,
there right now,
é que estamos derrubando a estátua
representar o orgulho africano,
African pride, I think.
enquanto Rhodes cai,
representa a cultura africana.
represents the African culture.
todas estas estátuas coloniais.
all these colonial statues.
Moshoeshoe, Kwame Nkrumah,
Bhambatha, Moshoeshoe, Kwame Nkrumah --
com a vida pela nossa libertação.
for our liberation.
e depois de 21 anos de democracia,
em nosso próprio país.
talvez em um museu, mas não aqui.
Maybe in a museum; not here.
places where young people,
estão sendo formados.
Louis Botha, Rhodes, todas essas pessoas,
Rhodes, all these people,
the colonialism.
da estátua de Cecil John Rhodes,
was scheduled to be removed
a favor ou contra essa remoção
for and against its removal
por estátuas na África do Sul.
in statues in South Africa.
concentrava-se na problemática
focused on problematizing
na Universidade da Cidade do Cabo.
I had just begun my master's
do debate sobre a estátua,
of the debate of the statue,
com meus orientadores,
a meeting with my supervisors,
que a estátua seria derrubada.
was going to fall on that day.
mas teríamos que adiar o encontro
enquanto a estátua era derrubada.
as the statue came down.
foi roubada do Zimbábue
that was looted from Great Zimbabwe
de Cecil John Rhodes, na Cidade do Cabo.
in Cecil John Rhodes's estate
durante quase quatro horas.
for nearly four hours.
o guindaste ganhava vida,
com os celulares e as câmeras.
on their phones and cameras.
juntamente com o guindaste,
a queda de Cecil John Rhodes.
of Cecil John Rhodes.
quando ele saiu do pedestal,
as he became absent from his base,
de radicais na África do Sul.
has arisen in South Africa.
no mesmo espaço e tempo,
in the same space and time
relacionadas a gênero,
beliefs and dreams
dão textura à minha realidade material.
de Chapungu estava incompleta.
felt incomplete.
de Deus e dos antepassados,
of God and the ancestors,
a história dela.
pelo universo de meu sonho,
a little bit more,
África do Sul e Alemanha
share a common story
roubadas do Zimbábue.
that were looted from Great Zimbabwe.
foram devolvidas ao monumento.
were returned to the monument.
de que não haverá sossego
that there will be unrest
sobre o mundo ao meu redor:
about the world around me:
e não vejo apenas minha imagem,
and not only see an image of myself,
que me fizeram como sou hoje.
who have made me who I am today.
tenha que sentir como se não existisse.
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