Thato Makatu

Artist Catalogue

Virtual Exhibition

kitchen studies

The kitchen is and has always been important as a physical space in the home and in conceptualisations of the domestic, although usually overlooked or reduced to its function as a space for the preparation and consumption of food in many people’s subjectivities. Although this function in itself is integral to many communities’ cultural identity, narratives and histories, I believe there is much to be revealed and discussed through the construction and deconstruction of the kitchen as a part of how we understand the domestic space and how we continue to think through how one can configure notions of the ‘home’. ‘kitchen studies’ acts as the beginnings of a conversation through the medium of artistic production that I am, have been and will be having with myself and those around me.

“The people make a kitchen, not necessarily the kitchen itself.

Even in a traditional kitchen, when we think of it, we think of cooking and who’s doing the cooking - a person, but obviously depends on us as the individual.

And what we do it with it and then what we can do as a community.

So yeah, that’s how I would think of it.”