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Manyatsa Monyamane

Current viewing_room
11 February - 8 April 2021
  • MANYATSA MONYAMANE | SERITHI

  • Manyatsa Monyamane (b. 1989) is a visual storyteller, inspired and influenced by African literature, theatre, and everyday surroundings. Unpacking difficult themes, Monyamane’s photography often brings attention to stories overlooked by the mainstream media.

     

    Monyamane is currently completing a Master of Arts in Fine Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand.

     

    She was a finalist at Pop Cap 2016 and, in 2017, a Multi & New Media Merit Award Winner for the Thami Mnyele Fine Arts Awards, as well as a Merit Award Winner for the Absa L'Atelier Awards. In 2018, she was announced as a finalist for the International Women Photographers Award, with a travelling exhibition in Dubai, New Delhi, Tokyo and Paris. A selection of works from the Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) series were shown at 1-54 London 2020, and Philla from the Serithi Series was shown online at 1-54 Paris at Christie's.

    • Manyatsa Monymane | photographed by Themba Vilakazi

      Manyatsa Monymane | photographed by Themba Vilakazi

  • SERITHI

     

    THE AURA OF A BLACK WOMAN

     

     

    When a confident black woman struts through a space, her presence is announced by the energy she exudes.

     

    Her gait, attire and sheer elegance precedes her, forming unshakeable, roaring impressions in the minds of those looking on.

     

    In the African culture you may hear someone utter "Mme o, ona le serithi" which loosely translates to "This woman has a powerful aura." She jolts you from your sense of comfort and compels you to lean forward and take notice of her, for she exists.

    • Philla, 2019 59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Philla, 2019
      59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
    • Jojo & Oba, 2019 59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Jojo & Oba, 2019
      59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
    • Gladys, 2019 59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Gladys, 2019
      59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
  • This project seeks to emphasise the erasure of black bodies, specifically the bodies of black women in modern history.

     

    That we were not in an age where women of colour were able to sculpt their own narratives, voices or images; and that women of colour have not been encouraged to embrace their full beings as freely as should have been the case; resulted in a hypersexualised society discouraging the full expression of womanhood, particularly with women of colour.

    • Ma Twins, 2019 59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Ma Twins, 2019
      59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
  • (View more details about this item in a popup).
    (View more details about this item in a popup).
    (View more details about this item in a popup).
    • Kgaugelo, 2019 59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Kgaugelo, 2019
      59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
    • Diva, 2015 59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Diva, 2015
      59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
    • Negiste, 2019 59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Negiste, 2019
      59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
  • Each woman in this series shows her different personality while maintaining her true sense of self. This series embraces the...
    Thandi & Stella, 2019
    59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
    Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper

    Each woman in this series shows her different personality while maintaining her true sense of self.

     

    This series embraces the multiple characteristics that makes each woman unique, embracing everything that comes with being a black woman.

    • Nomahlubi, 2019 59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Nomahlubi, 2019
      59.4 x 84.1 cm | 42 x 59.4 cm | Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
  • PELE | MAGARENG | MORAGO

     

    BEFORE | DURING | AFTER

     

    What inspired this work was the wedding picture of our grandparents. "Our", meaning the grandchildren - my neighbours and friends - who grew up in the streets of South Africa’s kasis.

     

    Our grandparents – deathly still, no smiles, seemingly as pale as the background, and all of them dressed the same.

     

    How can it be that in these wedding portraits, not a single one of them smiled?

    • Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 1, 2018 Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 1, 2018
      Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm
      Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
  • What were they feeling – on the day of their union – just before the portrait was taken?

     

    In the moment they were told not to smile, what feelings did they hide?

    • Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 2, 2018 Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 2, 2018
      Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm
      Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
    • Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 3, 2018 Full set: 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 42 cm Edition of 5 plus 1 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 3, 2018
      Full set: 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 42 cm
      Edition of 5 plus 1 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
  • Before the moment was captured, could they have been in a revelry, deeply in love, and yet slightly anxious about the invasive camera as if from the barrel of a gun?

     

    A day of laughter and love, joy and merriment.

    • Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 4, 2018 Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 4, 2018
      Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm
      Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
  • What did they feel as they were coached into this generic frame where their individuality was whited out and milked of vigour? And after? Once they had lost their colour?

     

    Would they go back to the joyous state preceding the studio, or would they remain alienated?

     

    Bagolo ba rena; ba ne ba ikutlwa byang?

    • Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 5, 2018 Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 5, 2018
      Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm
      Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
    • V3A1165 1
    • Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 6, 2018 Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 6, 2018
      Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm
      Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
  • This project is a reclamation of the life, absent in the portraits, of one of the most significant moments in the lives of our grandparents – their wedding day.

     

    This day, reimagined, extends the moment beyond the portraits so often hanging in the homes in my street. 

    • Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 7, 2018 Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 7, 2018
      Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm
      Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
  • Through this series, the past comes into conversation with the present, finding a possible narrative located in the spaces between.

     

    The past, present, and future collide; and we repossess the joy erased over time, breathing life back into the souls of our grandparents.

     

    Shateeee! Yo a sa reng shate wa duma!

    • Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 8, 2018 Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm Edition of 5 plus 2 AP Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
      Pele Magareng Morago (Before During After) 8, 2018
      Full set: 29.7 x 42 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm | 29.7 x 21 cm
      Edition of 5 plus 2 AP
      Archival Inkjet print on True Fibre Matte paper
  • PRESS

  • AKAA Digital Conference Program 2020

    Artist conversations

    Artists Nonzuzo Gxekwa and Manyatsa Monyamane in conversation with Brandei Estes, Head of Photography department, Sotheby’s London and Linda Pyke, THK Gallery Director.

  • The South African | THK Gallery at 1-54 London 2020 Press

    The South African | THK Gallery at 1-54 London 2020

    October 9, 2020 An article featuring THK Gallery's participation at 1-54 London 2020. Read the full piece here .
  • Beyond | Edition 3 | Manyatsa Monymane Press

    Beyond | Edition 3 | Manyatsa Monymane

    February 1, 2020 An inculsion of Manyatsa Monymane's Serithi series in Beyond Magazine's third edition. Beyond III aims to open a discourse on colonial structures in photography, the power of images in our...
  • Fabulous Woman Magazine | Interview with Manyatsa Monyamane Press

    Fabulous Woman Magazine | Interview with Manyatsa Monyamane

    December 7, 2017 An interview with photographer Manyatsa Monyamane. Read the full piece here .
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