Indoda
Tree bark
205 cm x 107 cm x 55 cm
Artist’s Statement
Indoda was inspired by a conversation I had with my father in 2023. As the fifth of his eleven children and his first daughter, he often calls me inkosazana kababa / “my princess.” In contrast, my brothers are izinkunzi / “bulls of the family.” In our Zulu culture, men are traditionally valued more than women, seen as the ones who carry on the family name.
During that conversation, my father expressed how proud he was of the person I’ve become. He told me I think and act like a man, and said he wished my siblings would learn from me. He spoke to me as he would to my older brothers, giving me advice and assigning me an unexpected leadership role. Then he called me nsizwa / “young man”. That moment became the foundation for this work.
The figure in Indoda reflects the tension between cultural expectations and the reality of women stepping into male dominated roles. I left the figure’s gender ambiguous so that it can speak to any woman who has had to carry that weight.
Hair dominates the piece, symbolising strength drawn from stories like Samson’s, Rastafarian resistance, and trees rooted in dirt. The figure also wears ubuhlali benkosazana /ceremonial princess beads across the face, blending symbols of feminine modesty with masculine strength.
Instead of traditional horns, I sculpted breasts to assert that power does not require rejecting femininity. Through Indoda, I honour the women who rise in spaces not made for them.
Gallery
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