The honest space in the soul
Tomorrow night, an extraordinary event celebrating dazzling South African woman photographers plus Brenda Fassie and young poet Mbali Vilakazi happens in the centre of the city. Gabi Falanga discovers how the show will reveal how women are no longer afrai
WHILE bold, unapologetic women are no longer rare, one woman is striving to take a unique place within South Africa’s remarkable sisterhood.
Mbali Vilakazi is an award-winning South African poet, performer, facilitator and speaker who is preoccupied with space and the multiplicity of voices.
And it is another woman who assisted her, also through art, into the place she now occupies.
An image taken of her by photographer Sally Shorkend at an inner-city Durban fruit market wearing white high-top takkies and a striking blue dress with her dreadlocks piled into a bun on the top of her head elicited reactions around the globe, used as it was on the cover of the Mail & Guardian’s Book of Women in 2013.
But Vilakazi was always her own best promoter, as her fans and those new to her vogue will find when she performs her poetry at the launch of a multidisciplinary art exhibition, One Night in No Man’s Land, at SoMa Art + Space in Maboneng tomorrow.
And she will not be the only strong woman celebrated on the night.
It was again Shorkend who styled and took possibly the most iconic image of the queen of African pop, Brenda Fassie, and that black-and-white portrait will also be on display at SoMa in an evening that’s designed to be a tribute to the beloved Ma Brrr.
Vilakazi said she was overwhelmed that she would be sharing the space with a South African legend – and at the same time deeply inspired.
As her words tumbled out, she grappled with what this meant.
“The moment I walked into the gallery space, there was Mama Winnie (Madikizela-Mandela’s) picture (also by Shorkend) and the picture of myself. I’m decades younger.
“The contribution she has made in her particular space is legendary. Same for Ma Brrr and how she captured the public’s imagination within art and as well as in the realm of gender conversation,” she said.
“Society is becoming a little more conservative in terms of bold, unapologetic women positioned in a central position. I don’t think we have seen another Brenda. I don’t think we see enough Winnie Madikizela-Mandelas in the political space. That brazenness is missing in the public discourse.”
She herself asked why women like these were missing from society today.
“I feel as a young person that I’m not seeing… this type of woman with a character larger than life ( who is) taking up space any more. The legacy they’ve left is being unapologetic, being bold, making an impact on society. Not being afraid of taking up space and bringing who you are into that space (or) about trimming and tucking out aspects of yourself.”
These are some of the aspects that author and ultimate Fassie fan, award-winning writer and journalist Bongani Madondo, admired about her.
“Brenda had no interest at all in being a role model. She was keen on inspiring people to be the best they can ever be on their own terms and not on what society believes is good behaviour. For me, that’s the best role model anyone can ever be blessed with.”
Madondo, who edited a book of stories about Fassie called I’m Not Your Weekend Special, will be hosting a conversation at the event tomorrow night about his obsessions and portrayals of powerful women in his latest book, Sigh, The Beloved Country.
Later in the evening, he and Shorkend will facilitate #StoriesAboutBrenda, where people will be encouraged to share their remembrances and connections with Fassie.
Twelve years after her death, Fassie remains celebrated and much loved, despite her widely documented drug use and sexual exploits. “She remains an icon because her art and style and beliefs as well as mistakes came out of an honest space in her soul. Audiences connect with that honesty, not some slick packaged notion of celebrity. Brenda had no time for that,” said Madondo. Although her memory was a bit hazy, Shorkend recalled how Fassie performed for the camera in 1992 when she took the image for the Vrye Weekblad of the superstar lying on her bed, blowing cigarette smoke seductively out of her nose.
“I don’t even know how it ended up in the bedroom. Brenda, as you can see, enjoyed performing for that photo. Then she put on her wedding dress. I think she even got into the bath with foam as an option for a photograph.
“She loved to perform and what a pleasure to photograph as well. She was someone with huge energy and character and personality. I like strong women. I admire women who are gutsy. She stood out from the crowd.”
Shorkend said it was important that the exhibition, which also features the works of other female artists including Audrey Anderson, Jodi Bieber, Fleur de Bondt, Zanele Mashinini and Lebohang Motaung, was not a static, clinical, traditional art exhibition experience.
“My big thing is about audience participation. Usually you have to walk with your hands behind your back, you’re not allowed to touch. There’s no interaction at all. You walk around and then you walk out.”
Vilakazi elaborated: “People are going to have a multi-layered experience. We get conditioned to experiencing and thinking about things in a particular way. When you think of a poet, you think of someone standing in front of a mic. I’m going to play with that. I do my work in a manner that challenges notions of how a poet takes up space.”
But it isn’t only visitors who will leave enlightened.
“I’m also hoping I can walk away with the strength to be. To continue to hold the flame with what the legacies in that room mean for me and represent. And the strength it takes, because we don’t talk about it. We don’t talk about what it takes in a society that punishes you, that isn’t kind if you’re that type of woman. Once you’re actually walking that path, it’s very difficult. It’s traumatising and very lonely,” said Vilakazi.
“There’s a sadness attached to it for me, when I look at them (Fassie and Madikizela-Mandela). A sadness of what it really takes and how often the machine strips away from that.” takes place at SoMa Art + Space in Maboneng tomorrow from 6pm until late. The Star’s executive editor, Janet Smith, a writer herself and a contributor to will be in conversation with Madondo at the event