Siwani’s practice focuses on black women’s bodies as active sites of cultural memory and archives of colonial violence. Working on the ramifications in the present of the complex and traumatic history of South Africa, she materializes and makes visible alternative forms of knowledge and spirituality, both through her artistic practice and her work as a traditional healer and Sangoma. 'AmaHubo' borrows its title from the Zulu word for the Psalms chapter of the Bible. Mixing isiZulu (one of the languages of South Africa) and English, the work expresses through movement and voice the violent experience of expropriation of land. It addresses spiritual connections between community and place through shared rites and rituals in a context where Christianity has demonized such practices.
Born 1987, Johannesburg, South Africa
Lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa and Amsterdam, The Netherlands
AmaHubo, 2018
Digital video, colour, sound, 13'01"
Courtesy of the artist, Madragoa, Lisbon and WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town