Zizipho Poswa's sculpture "Noxolo" references a magodi, a traditional African hairstyle, which she associates with memories of her aunt—after whom she named the piece.
The bowls stacked atop the piece evoke hair piled high on Noxolo’s head, and the bowls on the side reference her fondness for twisting and wrapping her hair into Bantu knots.
The massive work was not formed on a pottery wheel but was gathered, coiled, pinched, and smoothed, using precise movements akin to those necessary for realizing the hairstyles they represent.
"Noxolo" is part of Poswa’s Magodi series of large-scale, three-dimensional abstract portraits inspired by the community of women that raised her.
Take a virtual tour of the exhibition: https://youtu.be/A_1QbBQ5pag
Learn more about the space and explore all the artworks on view: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2021/afrofuturist-period-room
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Production Credits:
Managing Producer: Kate Farrell
Producer: Melissa Bell
Editor: Lela Jenkins
Graphic Design: Abby Chen
Music: Austin Fisher
Photographs: Paul Lachenauer
Special thanks:
Zizipho Poswa, Sarah Lawrence, Ian Alteveer, Ana Matisse Donefer-Hickie, Claire Lanier, Victoria Martinez, Sofie Andersen
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© 2022 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Meet the Artists: Zizipho Poswa
Meet Zizipho Poswa, one of the many contemporary artists whose work is featured in "Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room."
2 min. watch
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