Ilizwe/Nyika ‘Nation State’

Ilizwe/Nyika Collaborative project was produced in 2019 through a residency at the National Gallery of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and first exhibited at the Gallery in 2021, with support from the National Arts Council South Africa. This collaboration is a multidisciplinary work investigating narratives around land, national identity and gender in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Land is a sensitive issue in both countries, with colonial histories, struggles for independence and forced removals. Land ownership and land rights are still contentious issues in the neighboring states. The group of artists chose to explore the historical narrative of the Ndebele Queen Lozikeyi as a central theme in the work connected to the historical site of Hillside Dam in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Collaborating Artists include: Cliford Zulu, Deborah Weber, Elgin Rust, Jolene Cartmill, Lady Tshawe, Nomvuyiso Mpofu, Shamilla Aasha, Zandile Masuku. Land in this project symbolised motherland the giver of life. The function of land is to be the gate keeper to the spiritual realm, allowing us to commune with our ancestors. In this collage work of the Ilizwe/Nyika/Nation project we re-imagine the land, re-configure its borders and boundaries, remap the spiritual and cultural traditions that keep us separated by national identities and histories