These hand-me-downs are special as they embody the journeys walked by their respective owners. In poorer communities throughout the country, an old pair of shoes is not thrown away when it is still wearable, it is seen as precious.

– Nosiviwe Matikinca

Synopsis

Ndiziphiwe, They were given to me, is a ceramic installation about underprivileged learners who wear school shoes that are handed down to them by their older siblings or family members. By immortalising these shoes through the ceramic slip-casting method, they have been given a new pupose. This process also enables the artist to capture teh essence of the used shoes, including every mark, scracth and hole. As ceramic sculptures, teh shoes have been symbolically restored, but are also very fragile and breakable. This fragility is a metaphor for the precarity of teh public schooling system of our country, where black South African learners are subjected to sub-standard education. <<<

Reference credits

*Images of Themba Mkhangeli, his work and synopsis, courtesy of SASOL New Signatures.

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13 September

© Mmutle Arthur Kgokong, 2023

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To reference this audio documentation please cite:

Kgokong, M.A. 2023. Intraparadox, Interview with Nosiviwe Matikinca, SNS Art Competition Overall Winner 2023. Mmutleak.com-Intraparadox.

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