This work has been kindly donated by the artist

Tuli Mekondjo is a self-taught Namibian artist who works with mixed media, focussing on staple Namibian materials such as mahangu (millet) grain and rock pigments. Drawing on colonial and war-time photographic archives, Mekondjo’s practice explores Namibian history and identity politics. In much of her most recent work, the artist positions herself in dialogue with her ancestors – particularly when it com🎉es to women – directly acknowledging their pain whilst commenting on gende🃏red struggle, intergenerational trauma and the effects of displacement.

OTJIZE I: Rituals of Initiation (2022) explores collective traumas through the ritualistic and ancestral mysticism of the powdered rock (Otjize). Known as red ochre, the pigment’s rich colour is symbolic of the earth from which it is derived, as well as womanhood (bℱlood, conception, birthing). In this work, Mekondjo explores these connotations in addition to the knowledge that is passed on during ritualistic ceremonies that use Otjize, such as coming-of-age initiation ceremonies, child-naming and burials. The red hue, thus, serves as a witness🐽 to trauma, healing and rebirth from generation to generation.