Artwork

Embroidered Culture

2021 Competition entry

Detail
Tags

Nandipha Jantjies

Details:
Signed
Acrylic paint and ink on canvas
841 x 1189 mm
R15 000
Description:
“Embroidered Culture” shows a woman sewing her thigh in a decorative pattern, while seated on a fancy stool, bearing horns as a crown.

She appears to be serene.

Embroidery is the activity of decorating cloth or clothing with patterns or pictures sewn directly onto the material, so the reason behind the name “Embroidered Culture” is mainly how most cultures and traditions have been decorated to fit into classism, and how they have become tourist attraction sites for pictures and for amusement. She is not a stamp nor is she a display in a museum.

She displays no sense of emotion, while jabbing under her skin with the needle, as she decorates herself as if she feels no pain. Her face contains no facial detail, I do that in all my paintings to remove emotion. Stillness is the key to create neutrality and calmness.
I challenged social constructs too, with how we carry our cultures like products, as these new latest iPhone/Samsung phones, it goes as far as comparing which cultures has the strongest standard of values and influences than other cultures. She is the culture that’s embroidering itself. She stands as majestic and enchanting enough to stare at.

Embroidered culture can also show how the world operates today by decorating the truth.

She carries cow horns as her crown, to show royalty and strength. The colours used are of the Xhosa cultures, being white and turquoise/pastel blue. Behind her is the moon/sun in a constructed pattern, which basically says a lot about life with its complex line ; complexity which is wonderful when you view the lines from a far and up close it is a beautiful mess of direction and sometimes confusion.

Acrylic Ink Canvas

Detail
Tags

Nandipha Jantjies

Details:
Signed
Acrylic paint and ink on canvas
841 x 1189 mm
R15 000

Description:
“Embroidered Culture” shows a woman sewing her thigh in a decorative pattern, while seated on a fancy stool, bearing horns as a crown.

She appears to be serene.

Embroidery is the activity of decorating cloth or clothing with patterns or pictures sewn directly onto the material, so the reason behind the name “Embroidered Culture” is mainly how most cultures and traditions have been decorated to fit into classism, and how they have become tourist attraction sites for pictures and for amusement. She is not a stamp nor is she a display in a museum.

She displays no sense of emotion, while jabbing under her skin with the needle, as she decorates herself as if she feels no pain. Her face contains no facial detail, I do that in all my paintings to remove emotion. Stillness is the key to create neutrality and calmness.
I challenged social constructs too, with how we carry our cultures like products, as these new latest iPhone/Samsung phones, it goes as far as comparing which cultures has the strongest standard of values and influences than other cultures. She is the culture that’s embroidering itself. She stands as majestic and enchanting enough to stare at.

Embroidered culture can also show how the world operates today by decorating the truth.

She carries cow horns as her crown, to show royalty and strength. The colours used are of the Xhosa cultures, being white and turquoise/pastel blue. Behind her is the moon/sun in a constructed pattern, which basically says a lot about life with its complex line ; complexity which is wonderful when you view the lines from a far and up close it is a beautiful mess of direction and sometimes confusion.

Acrylic Ink Canvas