Siphokazi Faith Mtengwane

Artist Catalogue

Virtual Exhibition

Group Catalogue Site

INKABA YAM

I explore hidden and forgotten histories within my family and our culture. There is hidden knowledge that has been lost due to westernization and I am finding myself on a continuous journey of self-discovery. I explore my spirituality by allowing myself to be guided which is something that I have been doing subconsciously throughout the years as soon as I started approaching artmaking conceptually. My work has always been tied to me exploring my longing for home and the nagging feeling to talk about and acknowledge my elders and people that have passed on in my family. 

Through conversations with my mother I learned a lot about my family, especially those who have passed on but would never seem to leave me. I longed for them and the way things were when they were around. I found myself longing for the way it was before I was even born, and I longed for people I had never even met. With a deep knowing that both the people and the place were once very real. 

My mother told me about how when her and her siblings were born their umbilical cords were buried in the soil where they are to be raised and that is where they will be rooted and the ancestors acknowledge them. No matter where they go or move to that is where they always go back to. Once they are born they are rooted to their ancestors and to the land. Having my siblings and I born and raised in the city came with a lot of restrictions for my parents when it came to cultural practices so a lot of them fell away. Despite growing up in this environment and being far removed from the upbringing my parents were exposed to there was always this nagging feeling in the back of my mind, calling me back home. I ignored it and suppressed it until it was doing more than just merely nagging. It became clear that this was bigger than me just longing for home or my childhood. I am going through the process of remembering not just on a mental level but on a spiritual level and through conversation, carrying out activities within the home with my parents, dreams and going back into the past through my work I begin the process of piecing things together.

My body of work explores sewing and weaving as a response to certain dreams I have had revealing certain colours and traditional garments. Through the different methods of working I explore themes of identity, coming of age, my lineage and spirituality. In search of Inkaba Yam (my umbilical cord/where I am rooted), my work is not just a representation of my life and my journey but also of those who came before me and have passed on but still walk with me.