UKUTHEBULWA KWETHORO - Possession, Stillness and Sitting with Symbolic Symphonies

"Begin with the heart": is the echo whispered throughout Zana Masombuka’s new body of work, as she moves inside of the wide black bead curtain that breaks the boundaries of the photograph to become an architectural frame, in her eponymous work ‘Begin with the Heart’ - in Ndebele language: Sungula Ngehliziyo.

With her face and body covered in gold coins, the exploitation of gold now stripped of its old value, the artist, self-portrayed in this and all her other works, leaves only the lips uncovered, slightly parted in a precious act of revelation.

And it begins with the heart, this confessional story, imbued with universal power, yet able to be truly penetrated into and understood only by those open-hearted and embodied enough to receive it. It is a story of spirituality and perpetual rituality, of secrets and mythologies, of storytelling, complex mathematics and handcrafted symphonies, of symbols and spiritual references. It is set in the eternal present carried within the Ndebele culture.

Zana Masombuka created Ndebele Superhero in 2017, as a platform which aimed to explore and share the history, culture of the Ndebele culture, and of ‘re-imagining its future’ within the medium of photography, film and sculpture from the perspective of a young 21st century Ndebele woman. At the end of 2024, the Ukuthebulwa KweThoro series came to life, in which, for the first time in her artistic practice, photography and sculpture are combined, creating not only a unique dialogue between two artistic mediums, but above all a profound conceptual encounter between the photographic act of capturing the moment and the gesture of weaving with beads, which in Ndebele culture is associated with the ability to grasp and hold the moment; just as happens in film photography.

Cultural production through colors, geometric patterns, and symbolic writing, meticulously repeated by Ndebele people in their artistic and cultural expression, who are a small minority In South Africa, have come over time to form a visual language recognizable worldwide. Zana Masombuka’s work goes through a thorough process of world building, grounded in research, deep listening, and connection to the natural world.

The mask worn by the spirit in the works Itjhorholo Emagweni 1-3 is made from an indigenous hollowed-out gourd—used to create ritual heirlooms with strong symbolic value, averts the gaze, allowing the spirit to exist on its own terms to symphonise, build, innovate, protect, sustain and nurture the worlds it moves between.

This gift of nature, crafted by hand by humans, becomes a vehicle for a message of respect and communion with the environment and nature, which comes through more clearly in the work Itjhuguluko Lomnotho: true wealth is not found in the ornament of coins, but in an honourable and reciprocal relationship with the natural world. Zana Masombuka carefully selects the materials and colors of her works, adding rare beads that carry history of the Ndebele culture and mathematical patterns that create a unique visual steganography.

Ukuthebulwa KweThoro is also a careful reflection that honours the role of married Ndebele women, who are the holders of intergenerational memory, and the shared ancient wisdom passed down from mother to daughter. Through the centrality of the Art as a living energy within the Ndebele culture, pronounced almost like an invincible mantra carried by each breath during repetitive work, bead embroiderers reach a state of trance, where it is the needle that traces and draws new possibilities, guided by the hand, the heart, and the living energy of art making.

The work Iraso Laka NoSfiso is a tribute to the Iconic NoSfiso and her bloodline, a friend of the artist’s mother, who has been a catalyst for innovation within the Ndebele culture and continues to deeply impact and inspire the world building within the Ndebele Superhero platform.

In Itjorholo eGwareni the story continues with the appearance of a spirit that rises from the earth and becomes one with it; highlighting the importance of re-membering with the closeness of the truth of the gift of natural materials. This is where universal secrets dwell. Even though it is exploited, emptied, and damaged by the humans, in the heart of the earth a space emerges for meditation on the meaning of life, opening the mind to new possibilities and allowing the symbolic symphonies to encapsulate a new vision.

This expresses the semantic analogy between photographic images, handcrafted work, and respect for the environment and its resources: in an invitation to find the rare ability to appreciate the value of each moment, existing harmoniously.

Camilla Nacci Zanetti 

Editor: Zana Masombuka