One of the In My Private Moments Exhibition photos called Zinhle by Fulufhelo Mobadi
Voti Thebe
This is a critical look at the In My Private Moments Exhibition by two female artists Fulufhelo Mobadi and Kresiah Mukwazhi now showing at the National Gallery in Bulawayo, running from 3 to 31 June 2016.
Kresiah grew up in Harare and studied photography at the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa. Fulufhelo trained at the same institute as Kresiah and is exhibiting for the first time outside her native country, South Africa. Both artists are young, full of zeal and wide expectations, and showing vigour to explore this artistic terrain that is starved of female artists.
The use of the camera as a tool has crept into the fine arts. Gone are the days when the painter, painstakingly painted a portrait from a live model. It’s now easier to freeze that moment and paint from the photograph. The camera has the same concept as the eye. The eye can not lie, even the camera cannot lie, though it lies when manipulated in the studio or under the wrong settings. Whereas the God-given eye does not lie, it tells the truth, only the truth so help us God.
The art works on display explores the anatomy — the human body that has been part of the fire in the visual arts; that fire is redefined by each artist. These young artistic photographers are lighting dark terrain with their cutting edge images that explore the private moments of women in general within our communities. It has a sense of wit ejaculating with probing instinct of the young and fresh with the zeal of exploring new grounds. Most of the images on show are black and white photos — bringing that essence of the yester year before colour photography was invented.
The bird’s eye view of the whole exhibition is the sensitive use of the skin and the second skin — apparel. Especially the second skin that touches the body. It questions its authenticity, its sensuality. It explores the essence of who we are before the fall of mankind.
The use of undies as still life for yet another photograph to be taken is remarkable. It captures your attention to detail. Have we run out of still life objects or it’s a way of bringing out that femininity that we all long for, that femininity we have embraced since childhood? The innocence of a child when looking at the undies on the washing line, on the dura wall, on top of a shrub or hedge, or laying on the rock. It brings out the unadulterated mind.
Both artists Fulufhelo and Kresiah have used their own bodies as models in some of the images, sacrificing themselves on the cross of creativity.
The use of the African mask in Fulufhelo’s photos adds spiritual dimension to the show. She takes the mask to another dimension of creativity. The mask on the female body looks absurd to the male chauvinist and yet it is there to make a statement on what man has done to mother earth. On one of the photos titled “Zinhle”, she used the mask of the Tasmanians, a way of Taiwan who wear the mask on the back of their heads so as to distract the tiger from attacking them from behind.
The same principle might apply on this image to the rapist that is lacking in the concrete jungles of this world. Within the African tradition context the mask is only worn by male mask dancers. Like all religions, be it Christianity or any other, that are male dominated the mask on her body is a statement.