Ligeze NgeNcokazi

iHubo leNgabadi “song of the soil”

Exhibition on show 23 November 2022 – 27 January 2023

Artist Statement: Ligesze NgeNcokasi

by iHubo leNgabadi “song of the soil”

 My work arises from a contextual and spiritual base that allows me to unravel, bring to the surface and navigate a path of creative impulses. These impulses draw their character from love, pain, resolve and happiness. Each work, as it is in process towards completion, is modeled with the spiritual powers that can be experienced by me (the artist). The work heals, endows and interacts with my mental, physical and emotional state of wellbeing. In this way my work reveals how I look at the spirituality underpinning life in general and how this has affected my own personal life.

What becomes apparent is that most works depict the painful path that I have trod and through which I have survived many challenges. The works reflect my history and that of indigenous people of Africa and life in general as people pursue the fight for survival. The critical part for me is the unbundling of the lies that one was exposed to when growing up and the truth that was not revealed to us. My depiction draws its content from religious, political, traditional practices, heritage, customs and aspects of the dynamics of life in general. The enhancement of the work with texture and detail can be aligned to the ways our ancestors are recognized in ritualistic incisions and scarification on the body. This practice is preceded by an agreement, which is spiritually anchored, between the living and the ancestors. I call it a badge of identity, that distinguish and identifies one from the rest.

In my work a form follows an art expression because I may be inspired by my culture and tradition among many other things, but my work has its own life and meaning apart from the norms. That is why I usually say “I don’t just create ceramics, I create melodies and poetry with clay”.  My work is an extension of my culture, my tradition and it embodies all other aspects of life that influences my surroundings such as politics, religion and social life in general.  I believe that a tradition should be a stepping stone not a stumbling block, we should use tradition as a compass to guide us into new creative endeavors. Indeed referencing the past because the past is in the present.  One cannot create without any guidance or past reference because what occurred then shapes and informs what becomes our  work in the future.  I hope this gives a brief understanding of my work, particularly the meaning behind conceptual and creative process.