Senzeni Mthwakazi Marasela
Waiting for Gebane
Waiting for Gebane by Senzeni Mthwakazi Marsela is part of a series of works that symbolize the journey of the artist’s alter-ego, Theodorah on her search for her husband, Gebane. This work consists of a watercolor painting on paper in the artist’s signature red color. Swathed in a plaid textile similar to the one featured in Failing the figure waits, looking at the ground, her palms exposed, as if she is waiting with open arms. Here Marasela depicts her alter ego Theodorah as a nomad in the city of Johannesburg, while she searches for Gebane. The artist draws parallels between Theodorah’s story, the real-life story of the artist’s mother, and the 19th century narrative of Sarah Baartman. Baartman was a Khoikhoi woman who was displaced from the Eastern Cape to be exhibited as a ‘freak show’ attraction in Europe under the name Hottentot Venus. A relatable narrative for many South African women whose husbands leave home in search of better economic opportunities to support their families, these women either choose or are forced into a position of waiting. Waiting for Gebane addresses the struggles of these black women as it relates to dependency upon their husbands, as well as provokes the apex of the African dream, the broken promises, and the lasting legacies.
Senzeni Mthwakazi Marasela’s artistic practice uses a variety of mediums and materials to document and communicate the experiences of the artist’s alter ego, Theodorah Mthetyane. Also the artist’s mother’s name, Theodorah intentionally represents the collective lives and struggles of many South African black women and their legacies alike. A recurring focus in Marsela’s work considers the action of waiting and the multiplicity bound up in this experience. Waiting is a tedious state of in-betweenness, marked by a dependency on what’s to come, but it is also inextricably bound up in hopefulness. Transgressing from the static state of waiting, Marasela’s work moves into the action of searching, symbolizing agency, but also the failure of results to progress from the previous state of waiting.