Shonisani Netisha
Shonisani Netshia lectures painting in the Department of Visual Art at the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, University of Johannesburg. In most of her works she uses SeShweshwe fabric, and crocheted doilies as a visual references in the production of large to small scale paintings. In these, she explores how, through painterly alteration and transformation, shifts can occur in the meanings of patterns derived from these culturally-loaded sources. In her recent works she negotiates her role as a homemaker, nurturer, working mom, and wife by drawing from a selection of ‘culturally-loaded’ objects from her mother’s home. These objects symbolise and carry with them a sense of nostalgia from a specific era in her mother’s life, and hers. In her work she explores how, through painterly alteration and transformation, shifts can occur in the meanings of patterns derived from these culturally-loaded sources. In her recent works she negotiates her role as a homemaker, nurturer, working mom, and wife by drawing from a selection of ‘culturally-loaded’ objects from her mother’s home. These objects symbolize and carry with them a sense of nostalgia from a specific era in her mother’s life, and hers. She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Johannesburg. Her PhD research explores the visual manifestation of black respectability within the home as a domestic environment through the use of objects such as ornaments, tea sets, and crocheted doilies in particular.
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