Zamani Xaba, born in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, is an artist whose work is a powerful commentary on heritage, labour, and socio-economic inequality in South Africa. His formal artistic journey began with classes at the Durban Institute of Technology and led to a diploma from Ekurhuleni East College. He further honed his skills as a printmaker, graduating from the prestigious Artist Proof Studio in 2016.
In his latest body of work, the ‘Naked Tailor Series’, Xaba uses the sewing machine as a profound and multi-layered symbol. This motif is deeply rooted in his personal history, representing his family's lineage of seamstresses, upholsterers, and tailors. However, the symbol transcends personal heritage to ask a critical question: when does the representation of an object become more than the object itself?
The series features an anonymous, silhouetted figure struggling under the immense weight of a sewing machine, reminiscent of Atlas carrying the globe. Here, the weight is the crushing pressure of unseen economic and social forces. The tailor is depicted naked because he is unable to afford the very clothes he creates—a poignant critique of the vast gap between the rich and the poor. Through these works, Xaba gives form to an unseen populace smothered under the force of systemic pressure, creating a moving personification of struggle and resilience.
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Zamani Xaba, born in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, is an artist whose work is a powerful commentary on heritage, labour, and socio-economic inequality in South Africa. His formal artistic journey began with classes at the Durban Institute of Technology and led to a diploma from Ekurhuleni East College. He further honed his skills as a printmaker, graduating from the prestigious Artist Proof Studio in 2016.
In his latest body of work, the ‘Naked Tailor Series’, Xaba uses the sewing machine as a profound and multi-layered symbol. This motif is deeply rooted in his personal history, representing his family's lineage of seamstresses, upholsterers, and tailors. However, the symbol transcends personal heritage to ask a critical question: when does the representation of an object become more than the object itself?
The series features an anonymous, silhouetted figure struggling under the immense weight of a sewing machine, reminiscent of Atlas carrying the globe. Here, the weight is the crushing pressure of unseen economic and social forces. The tailor is depicted naked because he is unable to afford the very clothes he creates—a poignant critique of the vast gap between the rich and the poor. Through these works, Xaba gives form to an unseen populace smothered under the force of systemic pressure, creating a moving personification of struggle and resilience.
