Tuli Mekondjo
Oilonga yo vadali no vana vavo/ The labour of birthers and their children?, 2022
Image transfer, mahangu, resin, acrylic ink, cotton embroidery thread, paint, and wild silk fabric on canvas
163.2 x 150.8 cm
64 1/4 x 59 3/8 in
64 1/4 x 59 3/8 in
Tuli Mekondjo (b.1982 Angola) is a Namibian artist, whose richly multifaceted practice considers the sociohistorical context of Namibia as a site to explore ideas around ancestry and identity. Known for...
Tuli Mekondjo (b.1982 Angola) is a Namibian artist, whose richly multifaceted practice considers the sociohistorical context of Namibia as a site to explore ideas around ancestry and identity. Known for her mixed media and embroidered paintings, Mekondjo's practice is a pursuit to connect with and honor her heritage. Her practice in both mixed media and performance navigates feelings of displacement, having spent her childhood in refugee camps of Angola and Zambia during the Namibian War of Independence.
Mekondjo unearths unexpected archives, collecting historical photographs - sourced from books, public and personal archives, and postcards - which are then used as a starting point for the figures and landscapes in reimagined scenes. In beautifully handled works, embroidered, painted and drawn elements incorporate powerful symbolism, entwining the bodily with a spiritual realm.
Actively collaborating with the earth, Mekondjo has many methods to prepare her surface - burying the canvas in soil, as well as preparing the surface with resin and mahangu, a millet grain and a staple food in northern Namibia. Her use of mahangu draws inspiration from, and places importance on, the women who work the land and their other ceaseless domestic labor. Canvases are then layered with additions of wild silk, and cotton fabrics are imprinted with rusted metal and salt to create vivid patterning.
Oilonga yo vadali no vana vavo/ The labour of birthers and their children? (2022) layers archival imagery in a sensory space. The work is an homage to women, preserving and honoring their memory. Mekondjo highlights the importance of women as domestic workers and as mothers, revealing their strength. The artist places herself in the work directly connecting herself to ancestors.
Mekondjo unearths unexpected archives, collecting historical photographs - sourced from books, public and personal archives, and postcards - which are then used as a starting point for the figures and landscapes in reimagined scenes. In beautifully handled works, embroidered, painted and drawn elements incorporate powerful symbolism, entwining the bodily with a spiritual realm.
Actively collaborating with the earth, Mekondjo has many methods to prepare her surface - burying the canvas in soil, as well as preparing the surface with resin and mahangu, a millet grain and a staple food in northern Namibia. Her use of mahangu draws inspiration from, and places importance on, the women who work the land and their other ceaseless domestic labor. Canvases are then layered with additions of wild silk, and cotton fabrics are imprinted with rusted metal and salt to create vivid patterning.
Oilonga yo vadali no vana vavo/ The labour of birthers and their children? (2022) layers archival imagery in a sensory space. The work is an homage to women, preserving and honoring their memory. Mekondjo highlights the importance of women as domestic workers and as mothers, revealing their strength. The artist places herself in the work directly connecting herself to ancestors.