Sethembile Msezane

Abstract

Statues, monuments and interventions

In South Africa, the dominance of colonial and Afrikaaner white male monuments and statues has resurfaced as a topic of debate through movements such as Rhodes Must Fall. Through Performance Art I have been able to engage with the trauma of the representations of national identity in public spaces through predominantly white male statues. I highlight the absence of the black female body in memorialized public spaces through performing as temporary living sculpture. In rethinking public spaces as inclusionary, I investigate other forms of vernacular modes of remembrance performed by everyday citizens in the act of memory.

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