Simphiwe Ndzube: The Fantastic Ride to Gwadana

'Gwadana references a place in the Eastern Cape that has come to be known as the mecca of witches. The stigma associated with the space has resulted in secrecy and dissociation with Gwadana by those who grew up there. This folkloric version of Gwadana acts as a portal for me to enter into the concept of fantasy and the way that it plays out in daily life.

In being labelled an affiliate of witchcraft, one becomes other. To be other is to be vulnerable, rejected and scorned by society. The Mine Moon characters in this exhibition celebrate their own oddities and vulnerabilities, depicting the fictionalised Gwadana as a type of utopia wherein the societally persecuted are finally celebrated as equals. These characters are beautiful outcasts exposing the irrationality within supposedly rational post-apartheid societal structures that can turn the already underserved against each other, distracting them as a method of maintaining order.'

The Fantastic Ride to Gwadana includes a soundscape created by the artist in collaboration with Thabo K Makgolo and Zimbini Makwethu. This experimental work explores acoustic elements evocative of sorcery, witch-hunting and creatures that fly at night. Ndzube describes the work as ‘celebratory, a protest and an outcry against misjudgments of character and ultimate injustice against women, especially the elderly who are often associated with witchcraft’. The piece marks the first interpretation of Ndzube’s work in sound and will be audible throughout the exhibition.

With special thanks to and contributions by Elvis Sibeko (Elvis Sibeko Studio), Inganam Batala and Awethu Hleli. 

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