Tiyani Rikhotso

Artist Catalogue

Virtual Exhibition

Rest as the Practice of Freedom

This exhibition explores how rest, when embraced by Black women, can function as redress for generational lineages of fatigue. Though simple, embracing rest challenges oppressive histories and current social, economic and cultural factors that hinder our ability to pause and enjoy moments of rejuvenation and ease. The title of the piece, Rest as the Practice of Freedom is inspired by bell hooks’ text Love as the Practice of Freedom (2006). Hooks’ writing is referenced as it is key in shaping my ideas on how rest frees our bodies from the strain of oppressive systems and gives us the energy to dream up and enact liberated futures.

In a central component of the exhibition, strips of my old bed sheets are woven together and take on the form of a grass mat. I was drawn to the use of this object as it is a personal and cultural symbol of rest for me. My childhood memories are filled with images of my grandmother’s outstretched legs atop the mats and the bodies of giggling cousins nestled together on a mat-cushioned floor. Its surface would support her as she basked in the cool shade of mango trees and transformed into makeshift beds when her bed couldn’t accommodate all her grandchildren.

The mat and labour of tying it together are symbolic of my attempts to extend an offer of rest to all the tired black women in my family and beyond. Formally, the expanse of the mat expresses the concept of rest as reparation, as this scale points to an accommodation of multi-generational experiences of rest. This sense of redress is also reiterated through a poem written and featured in the exhibition to anchor my exploration of the topic of rest. My mother and grandmother are invoked through imagery that acknowledges their strain, honours their labour and offers up a surface of reprieve.

Also, the process of weaving this resting place is reflective of how labour and rest function under capitalism. The time-consuming nature of making mirrors how one often needs to give themselves to their work to earn moments of stillness and ease. This tension between labour and rest is further engaged in the exhibition through an installation of erect grass mats. This upright posture is reminiscent of bodies on their feet, pouring over tasks and responsibilities. Furthermore, the disruption of the horizontal placement of the mats (that would point to a resting, sitting or sleeping body) is reflective of a denial of rest that black women have faced through history and still grapple with today.

Moreover, the use of my old bedding not only allows me to insert a part of myself into the piece but enables me to bring a material sense of ease and softness. This transforms the traditional mat into a resting place with a more comfortable finish. This shift is reflective of visions of progress that see black women liberated from disproportionate levels of fatigue and the inability to carve out time for and spaces of rest.