What’s my real name?
Who am I
Who are my daughters
I’m so tired
I really wonder if
I am the bitch
That I am constantly told I am
Is my name Thando
Turiya
Bitch
Zohlanga
Stupid
Turiya
Or is my name
Noluthando
Is my name
Sifebe
Tiye
Nondindwa
Or
Mama
Am I her or is she me
Is it us or are we all like that
We laugh
I cry
We paint
We sing
I write
—
Working primarily with common yet loaded fabrics, from pantyhose to correctional service uniforms, Turiya Magadlela (b.1978, Johannesburg, South Africa) creates abstract compositions by cutting, stitching, folding and stretching these materials across wooden frames. Her subject matter moves between articulations of personal experience of woman- and motherhood, and narratives from Black South African history. Magadlela studied at the Funda Community College (1998), the University of Johannesburg (1999 – 2001), and the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam (2003-2004). She has had six solo exhibitions to date, at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, Museum Africa and at blank projects. She has participated in several group exhibitions, both locally and internationally, including Blue Black, curated by Glenn Ligon (Pulitzer Arts Foundation, 2017), Simple Passion, Complex Vision: The Darryl Atwell Collection (Gantt Centre, 2017), The Past is Present (Jack Shainman Gallery, 2017), Les jour qui vient, curated by Marie-Ann Yemsi (Galerie des Galeries, 2017), Blackness in Abstraction (Pace Gallery, 2016) and The Quiet Violence of Dreams (Stevenson, 2016). In 2015, she was awarded the prestigious FNB Art Prize. Wabona lapho isifebe, wangena kuso is Magadlela’s third solo at blank projects.
Magadlela lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Who am I
Who are my daughters
I’m so tired
I really wonder if
I am the bitch
That I am constantly told I am
Is my name Thando
Turiya
Bitch
Zohlanga
Stupid
Turiya
Or is my name
Noluthando
Is my name
Sifebe
Tiye
Nondindwa
Or
Mama
Am I her or is she me
Is it us or are we all like that
We laugh
I cry
We paint
We sing
I write
—
Working primarily with common yet loaded fabrics, from pantyhose to correctional service uniforms, Turiya Magadlela (b.1978, Johannesburg, South Africa) creates abstract compositions by cutting, stitching, folding and stretching these materials across wooden frames. Her subject matter moves between articulations of personal experience of woman- and motherhood, and narratives from Black South African history. Magadlela studied at the Funda Community College (1998), the University of Johannesburg (1999 – 2001), and the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam (2003-2004). She has had six solo exhibitions to date, at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, Museum Africa and at blank projects. She has participated in several group exhibitions, both locally and internationally, including Blue Black, curated by Glenn Ligon (Pulitzer Arts Foundation, 2017), Simple Passion, Complex Vision: The Darryl Atwell Collection (Gantt Centre, 2017), The Past is Present (Jack Shainman Gallery, 2017), Les jour qui vient, curated by Marie-Ann Yemsi (Galerie des Galeries, 2017), Blackness in Abstraction (Pace Gallery, 2016) and The Quiet Violence of Dreams (Stevenson, 2016). In 2015, she was awarded the prestigious FNB Art Prize. Wabona lapho isifebe, wangena kuso is Magadlela’s third solo at blank projects.
Magadlela lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa.
