Buhlebezwe Siwani

Buhlebezwe Siwani uses her body and movements in her performances to convey deeper concepts and meanings. Siwani is a Sangoma: a traditional and spiritual healer specific to Sub-Saharan Africa who uses divination to deal with physical and spiritual issues. Rituals and the relationship between African spirituality and Christianity, which was imposed on South Africa by European colonists, are frequently reflected in Siwani’s work. Siwani’s
work AmaHubo (‘psalms’ in isiZulu) is performed by eight South African women dressed in white, shot against a background of alternating sky- and ground views on the red earth of a vineyard outside of Cape Town. The women perform a choreographed movement and start a symbolic journey to a white building from the colonial times, which bears resemblance

to a church. At the same time, the poem Sizokhungwa Ngani? by writer and spoken word artist FossilSoul is heard. The poem emphasises how religious movements have stripped the spiritual core of individuals of the feelings inherited through the land of their ancestors, repeatedly posing the question of how one’s soul can find solace. Siwani’s film underlines the cyclical experience of time that is important in South African healing practices and spirituality, while imagining metaphorical scars of colonialism.

While af Klint was inspired by a renewed interest in spirituality in Europe and North America, Siwani shows that spirituality existed long before this resurgence in other parts of the world and was in fact demonised and suppressed by colonial power structures.

Nest ruimte voor kunst
ExhibitionsEvents
Nest

Cycle, Portal, Path

–
Cycle Portal Path - Lotte van Uittert 009.jpg
All images
Artists

This fall, Nest presents Cycle, Portal, Path: an exhibition that examines how the traces left by the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) affect contemporary art 100 years later. Af Klint lived in a time full of developments and scientific turmoil. Scientists studied nature and dealt with phenomena such as atomic fission and X-rays; discoveries that shaped the world and made the invisible visible.

Cycle, Portal, Path shows that Af Klint’s exploration of the relationship between science, nature and spiritual life is as urgent now as it was in her time. The artists in the exhibition relate directly or indirectly to Af Klint and her views and supplement them with contemporary or futuristic ideas. Through meditative drawings and video installations, abstract paintings and AI-generated images, the artists reflect on new technologies, spiritual movements, ecology and the connection between then, now and future generations.

Cycle, Portal, Path was created in conversation with Kunstmuseum Den Haag and KM21, where the exhibitions Hilma af Klint and Piet Mondriaan: Forms of Life and Tai Shani – Our Hieromantic Objects of Love will be on view simultaneously. A diverse context program has been developed for the three exhibitions. Keep an eye on our website for updates.

Made possible by
  • MFO_LOGO_RGB_ZWART_SMALL.png
  • DH_black.png
  • iona-logo-cmyk_png.png
  • Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds - horizontaal - zwart.png
  • stroom_100pt_zw.png
Related events
Related to “Cycle, Portal, Path”
Press