Siphokazi Mlangeni
I Siphokazi Mlangeni was born on June 12, 2001, in Bergville KwaZulu
Natal. I later moved with my family to Johannesburg, Gauteng where I
attended primary school and later interchanged high schools between
KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The passion I have for art developed during my early years of high school
when I taught myself how to draw. Upon studying BA Visual Arts at the
University of KwaZulu-Natal I was introduced to the ceramics medium
which I felt more drawn to as I continuously worked with it. I realised that I
enjoyed working with the medium as it allows me to feel the clay, and to
manipulate it into any form I may desire.
The inspiration behind my work is the feminine body, particularly the vulva, and the positive and negative notions that society associates with it. As a young woman my experiences with my body and where I stand in society are also inspirational to my work. The series titled Ukuzihlola (2023) which is a part of the Decurex Exhibition was created for the purpose of my honours research at UKZN titled; State of the Vulva: Themes of virginity and female sexuality in the works of Suzanne Santoro, Lady Skollie, and Siphokazi Mlangeni. This body of work was informed by the themes of virginity and female sexuality, where I translated collected information into visual depictions to be consumed as art.
These art pieces reflect on the descriptions extracted from my sources describing the changes that occur on a woman’s body upon losing her virginity. These changes include sagging breasts, stretchmarks on the waist and behind the legs, and any signs of cellulitis or loosening of the skin on the lower parts of the body. I took some of these descriptions and added them as textures on my vases with an attempt to embrace these changes as normal. The titles of the art works derive from the word intombi, describing a virgin girl in Zulu.
My research and my works do not pose as a challenge, an agreement, or disagreement to the cultural practice of virginity testing. It is more of an inquiry on the practice, its notions, and the value that society holds against women through their bodies.
In the process of creating these pieces as an artist, I felt more like an examiner looking into the vulvas and choosing which ones I viewed as “virgins” and “non-virgins” as I gave them characteristics that forced me to question how I feel about the practice as a woman who has never been exposed to it. I hold dear the idea of an individual examining her own virginity, both literally and metaphorically, something like self-reflecting, seeking to perceive yourself from your perception. This idea creates a feeling of acceptance and comfort in one’s skin, shadowing feelings of shame, hate, and other negative self-imagery that stem from women viewing themselves through the lens of society.
I appreciate how clay allows me to feel the work as I make it. Like my interpretation of Ukuzihlola, I feel and see parts of myself through the process of making art and from that I choose how to respond to the negative views of society associated with female sexuality.
Read More
