Black Woman's Gaze. Nomusa Makhubu Unearths the Colonial Archive
Black Woman's Gaze. Nomusa Makhubu Unearths the Colonial Archive

Summary/Abstract: The paper proposes an analysis of Nomusa Makhubu’s 2014 artwork "Umasifanisane I (Comparison I)" within the context of critical black feminist studies (Sara Ahmed, Hortense J. Spillers, Sylvia Wynter) and archival studies (Ariella Azoulay, Tina M. Campt). The author's primary aim is to show how dominating historical narratives can be disrupted with the means of insightful archival research, artistic reappropriation, and montage, which actively alter postcolonial knowledge production. Makhubu’s project demonstrates that although history itself will not solve the problems arising from colonial violence, working with a visual archive and persisting in "staying with the trouble" may propose new ways of representing black womanhood.

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