Athi-Patra Ruga (b. 1984, Mthatha, South Africa)

iiNyanga Zonklaya

2021, wool and thread on tapestry canvas, 250 × 150 cm.

Photo by Eva Presenhuber. Courtesy of the artist and WHATIFTHEWORLD. ©Athi-Patra Ruga.

This artwork tells the story of Nomalizo Khwezi, a queer woman torn between two sides of her identity. The woman on the left is dressed in the style of the Women’s Methodist Manyano, a church organization founded on Christian Values. The woman on the right is dressed as a makoti, a newly married woman in isiXhosa culture. Are they fighting or dancing?

READ ABOUT THE BACKGROUND HERE.

 iiNyanga Zonyaka (the months of the year) is a series of works by Ruga that creates new myths to tell the history of South Africa from the perspective of people who have been historically erased from the narrative.

Nomalizo represents the new young generation of South Africans, who can shape their own identities outside of the boundaries of Western and traditional culture.