entire population was co-opted to consent and support the myth. As such, most South Africans chose to forgive and, more importantly, forget. This forgetting means that there are large chunks missing from our stories about our country and ourselves, and so then the work of the artist is to search, excavate, restore, in an act of ‘re- membering’ not only for oneself but also for the collective. ” One of his pieces, “Land of Zanj,” is a performance piece that links the collective trauma of displacement caused by the African Diaspora with the racial segregation felt in South Africa during Apartheid. A choreographed performance and procession, named after the island of Zanzibar or Azania, is an ancient term used to describe various parts of southeastern Africa. When asked about the intent behind works like the “Land of Zanj,” Mohau refers to the importance of restoring lost memories of Black history in the hopes of reclaiming the power of those affected by the destructive past of displacement and oppression. “A work engaging such themes attempts to draw on the many similarities in the experience of black bodies under oppressive regimes throughout history. In all these historic migrations, there are traces of our humanity with stories that have the potential to restore that which for centuries has been misplaced.”
ART AS A TOOL FOR RESTORING MEMORY
It is often said that all art is political. Art and politics have always been intertwined and have had the power to influence and shape each other throughout history. Experiencing life in a country that encapsulates a violent past within a divided and often racially segregated nation grants space for art to be tied to the representation of displacement and injustice. One thing that drives Modisakeng to create is the ability to use his art as a medium to restore memories and honor (the true) history of South Africa. “Living in South Africa in the ‘post-colonial’ era means that one has to grapple with the legacy of erasure and voicelessness engendered by a long history of dispossession and exploitation.” To produce art that speaks of restoring erased history is unapologetically political. In his quest to own this truth, an artist has a responsibility to oppose the existent false narratives and help the collective to remember. “During the height of tensions in South Africa, decisions were taken to avert the threat of a racial war by ushering in the so-called ‘rainbow nation,’ a well-orchestrated myth about a new society where all races would live in harmony. For this notion to work for as long as it has, the
“The symbolism of my work represents the intersection /relationship between the creative process, storytelling, and the resonance of ancestral memory kept alive through ritual.”
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