Ulwaluko I & II
Cotton fabric print and hessian; pine wood wrapped in cotton
Two Part: 115 cm x 60 cm; 45 cm x 15 cm x 13 cm
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Ulwaluko is a two-part mixed media work that reflects on the transformation of Xhosa boys into men, not to critique the sacred rite itself, but to interrogate the social teachings that often accompany it. This body of work is rooted in personal experience and observation — particularly the shift I witnessed in my cousin, who returned from Esgangeni as someone almost unrecognisable, embodying a hardened performance of masculinity.
The first part is a large textile tapestry that symbolically stitches together the emotional and physical ruptures left by the ritual. Its focal point is the ikhwetha, seated upright with a stick, his body and face covered in white ash (imbola), signalling transformation. Beneath him hangs a flayed layer of skin — a visceral metaphor for the shedding of his previous identity. This is not just a loss of foreskin, but a potential severing from gentleness, vulnerability, and connection to the feminine. The piece acknowledges the trauma many are unable to name, while honouring the gravity of the passage.
The second part is a carved wooden sculpture, more reverent in tone. Wrapped in red and white fabric (a symbol for the blanket worn during the ritual), adorned with cowrie shells, and carved into a phallic form, it speaks to protection, masculinity, and the sharpness of transformation. The contrast between the masculine carving process (carving as a form of cutting) and the feminine act of sewing (sewing as a form of healing) underlines the gendered expectations that shape these boys. Ulwaluko invites us to ask: what kind of man is born, and what is buried, in this sacred transition?