Pause, Pose, Posture

I can tell who she is by the way she poses.

Pause. She takes note, she gathers herself, she adjusts, she pauses.

Pose. She holds her history in tension. She asks to be remembered through a solidified gesture. She knows her image rests in the hands of perception.

Posture. This is who she is — the way she sits, the way she smiles, the way she places her hand on her hip.

“I trace my matriarchal history through the few photographs available to me. In the abundant land of Venda, before 1994, the camera was a rare occurrence. For my family, it first arrived as a colonial object, brought by missionaries — and to them, I owe the fragments of history I can now access.

This body of work travels back in time. From 1974 to 2000 — and no later — these are the years my family’s story was captured. Through these few photographs, I attempt to piece together where I come from, and in doing so, I hope that my matriarch is, somewhere, documented”.

 – Muofhe Manavhela

At the centre of the series stands The Wanderer, a figure who falls into a river and awakens in this parallel realm. His journey through the spirit world brings him face to face with Ajofia and the Sibyls, whose tension embodies the struggle between knowledge and control, between revelation and restriction Through these interconnected narratives, The Passage Between Worlds becomes more than a series of paintings, it is a visual mythology. Nattoo’s world building transforms folklore into philosophy.

Muofhe Manavhela 

Muofhe Manavhela, born 2000, Limpopo, is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Johannesburg. Her vibrant work communicates the experience of a young black woman navigating the modern South African landscape.

Inspired by artists like Lady Skollie and Andy Warhol, as well as her personal experience of a 21st century black womanhood, Muofhe depicts a more nuanced perspective of the daily experiences of black women. The artist uses a variety of mediums mainly paint, printmaking and embroidery, to communicate themes of sexuality, youth, freedom, pleasure, and the domesticity of women. Her work is simultaneously fun and honest.

The young artist has a promising and growing stature having shown at her debut solo exhibit ‘12 seconds’ at Bubblegum Gallery, and group shows ‘Unusual Suspects’ at African Artists Foundation, ‘Mother of Mankind’ at ADA x HOFA, and ‘The Human Experience’ at Project Space Africa – her work finds home amongst different contexts.