Johannesburg - For self-taught Johannesburg artist Farhana Jacobs, much of her efforts are placed in redefining the way women see themselves, in a world which often dictates this for them.
“My work interrogates the relationship women have with their surroundings, with themselves and how they navigate hostile external structures of patriarchy and limiting belief systems,” she explained.
“In my work, women’s bodies are offered as a terrain of contestation - as landscapes upon which these hostile surroundings and contexts are re-purposed and re-imagined.”
Farhana and 11 others are finalists for the inaugural ANNA Award, a new annual art prize which aims to discover, recognise and nurture a new generation of women artists in South Africa.
This is particularly pertinent in August, when Women’s Month is commemorated in the country, with official proceedings kicking off in Durban on Monday.
The art prize was launched earlier this year by Latitudes Online, an online curated marketplace for contemporary art from Africa. Together with ANNA, the two brands are female-centric and have joined forces to create this exciting new art accolade.
Roberta Coci, co-founder of Latitudes, explained that they had received over 600 applications, which have been cut down to the final 12.
This includes Jacobs, who is thrilled to have made it so far, as she eyes the coveted final prize which includes a R100 000 cash prize from ANNA, a month residency at PLAAS (the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies) as well as an independent Policy Research Institute within the Faculty for Economic and Management Sciences at UWC.
The winner will also receive a profile on Latitudes Online and a year’s supply of ANNA products, while their winning artwork will be included in the ANNA Awards Collection.
The 12 finalists will also be presented to the Latitudes audience, who will vote for an Audience Award winner.
“I don’t know enough about the finalists to say what sets me apart but all I know is that I feel immensely privileged to be a finalist and to find myself in such an extremely talented cohort,” Jacobs told The Saturday Star.
“ I like the fact that we are all female artists, all seemingly telling our story with our work, with our biographies and I think that it’s also great that we were all emboldened enough to enter this competition and put ourselves out there.”
The Joburg artist decided to enter the competition because she felt she had a good enough body of work to submit, something that she poured herself into.
“The last two years have been tough for all of us and, like many other people, I’ve had this pent-up energy, this need to express myself in new ways, more loudly,” she said.
“I believe whatever the outcome I’ll feel rewarded just having been through the process.”
For Jacobs, the ANNA Award was also a natural fit for her as much of her artwork is female-centric. This is something that is personal to her, and a way for her to make a meaningful contribution to society.
“I think at this stage in my process I often reflect back on my childhood and the challenges I faced then versus where I am now, so I make the work as a sort of love letter to send healing backwards to my younger self as well as further back along my ancestral line to heal pain and unresolved trauma for my grandmothers, which I may carry in my physical body or psyche, and then forward again so that my daughter and her daughters don’t have to do the same specific work.
“Often making the work feels like a pilgrimage towards the self so I think I centre women because it’s an attempt to centre myself and re-imagine, rewrite, recode my pathway to correct any past transgressions, whether it be around my physical body or limitations set on my autonomy, imagination and abilities.”
Jacob is also passionate about using her craft to fight patriarchy in various phases.
“I think fighting the patriarchy can be done in small, soft or large and heavy moves depending on who you are, your resources and environment.
“I’d like to think that the work provides an alternate world where the view of women’s bodies, abilities, strengths, narratives and imagination are dictated by women identifying people through their own lenses and that it helps women who are ready to do so, reflect on how the overarching superstructures have shaped and formed their outlook, both in their physicality and in ways unseen.”
Jacobs hopes that the ANNA Award will catapult her career and allow her to effect even more change through her work.
“I would like for the work to be seen by diverse audiences locally and internationally and for those who resonate with it to give me feedback and have a conversation because I am fascinated by the different interpretations people bring to the work based on their life experiences.
“I want to bring the work into existence because doing so brings me joy and I want to be resourceful enough to maintain momentum in the making and sharing of the work.”
Here are the other ANNA Award finalists:
Charlae Baragwanath-Barter
For over 60 years, Baragwanath-Barter honed his art skills in lithography and print, but due to diminishing motor skills, he started working with free motion machine stitch.
“The sheer perseverance I embody as an older person working in a different medium could be a reason to be considered for this incredible opportunity,” he said.
Lerato Nkosi
Nkosi’s work employs ink and stamps as a vital, organic, multifaceted material.
“For me, ink and stamps are mediums that stain and certify with their contact on any surface. These materials are those that never leave a surface the same after being in contact with it,” she explained.
“The stamp and ink is always used to verify and ordain documents of importance which grants the holder automatic approval to the decision of others. This process is always handled by an individual of authority.”
Fiona Davhana
Davhana’s creativity comes from a personal place yet is relatable to a number of other women.
“I am creating work that urges society to take an in-depth look at the challenges some mothers have come to face since having their children, work that creates conversations that would normally be seen as taboo,” she said.
Hemali Khoosal
As a socially-engaged artist who works to connect people from seemingly disparate worlds, Khoosal sees the value of art as a tool for finding common ground and building empathy. “Crucial to building empathy is giving a platform to take up space and be seen and recognised,” he said.
Gugulethu Mnguni
Soweto-born Mnguni is currently completing her third year at Artist Proof Studio.
In 2020, she exhibited her work in Vancouver, Canada, as part of a group exhibition on climate change.
Mbali Tshabalala
A printmaker and painter, Tshabalala straddles mediums and objectives and is attuned to the appeal of stylised black iconography.
She is also alert to the fact that art – as a representational system – cannot wholly grasp the rich complexity of black life – namely its spiritual dimension, familial culture of interdependency, embodied in the culture of Ubuntu, and the rights of women therein.
Motlhoki Nono
Nono’s work is merely an earnest attempt towards a romantic matrilineal family archive that maps the lines of intimacy, violence and points of solidarity in the experiences of love for black women.
“I find that love is a universal experience and I simply want to participate in centering the narratives of black romance as a universal experience, and to investigate the contours of the romantic experiences of black women.”
Nadine Mathenjwa
As a young woman emerging in the art industry, Mathenjwa enjoys painting, printmaking and exploring fashion within the creative space.
“As an emerging artist, I’ve experienced the hardship of creating work consistently without funding as well as sharing the same view about the shortage of female artists in the industry,” she said.
Soliana Tewolde
Tewolde is a first-generation immigrant child and her pictures are a story of her heritage and pieces of her people that were never given the chance to shine.
“When I was born I was given the name Soliana which means ‘The Light of God’, yet as life has gone on I’ve gone by many names and have been through many careers, yet the title I prefer is Story Teller,” she said.
Sinalo Ngcaba
Ngcaba has lived around the country and picked up inspiration from all the different cultures. “This is why I use so much colour and variety in my work as I want to represent what it means to be young, black and female in Africa right now,” he said.
Thembi Mthembu
Mthembu has been practising art for almost five years and is now fully confident in her skills and her voice.
“I feel it’s time I get out there to make an impact, be recognised and be counted as one of the women who contributed in the art world during our time,” she said.