Research Catalog

Isivumelwano

Title
Isivumelwano / Sabelo Mlangeni ; text, Emmanuel Balogun, Athi Mongezeleli Joja, Tshepiso Mabula ka Ndongeni, Tshepiso Mazibuko.
Author
Mlangeni, Sabelo
Publication
  • [Amsterdam] : Fw:Books, [2022]
  • ©2022

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
TextUse in library TR819 .M53 2022gOff-site

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Details

Additional Authors
  • Balogun, Emmanuel
  • Joja, Athi Mongezeleli
  • Mabula ka Ndongeni, Tshepiso
  • Mazibuko, Tshepiso
  • Huis Marseille (Amsterdam, Netherlands), host institution.
Description
119 pages : illustrations (some color), portraits; 30 cm
Summary
The title 'Isivumelwano' comes from Nguni, a group of languages (including Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele and Swati) spoken in several South African countries. The word stands for a contract, agreement or covenant, and here is synonymous with the marriage ceremonies of black communities recorded by Mlangeni in southern Africa. In a series of 70+ images, the viewer is invited to participate in almost as many ceremonies, very diverse in nature. Lovingly captured couples who deviate from the heteronormative standard, local populations and cultural customs defy traditional notions of the white wedding. Isivumelwano is both a celebration of and a critique of the relationships we maintain with others. According to the photographer, "the project exposes the systems we find ourselves in (and resist)." However, the critical note is not immediately apparent in Mlangeni's images - the cruelty of unjust history is hidden behind a ceremonial veil. In the foreground is deliberately the antagonist of hatred and violence: love. Mlangeni captures the intimate, special moments during wedding ceremonie. The images become more than just a documentation of these rituals: "They show that love is the key that takes cultures from oppression to joy. As a political unifier, the contract - love - takes on a liberating force." Exhibition: Huis Marseille, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (21.05. - 04.09.2022).
Subject
  • Mlangeni, Sabelo > Exhibitions
  • Collection "Photographes" > 21st century > Exhibitions
  • Wedding photography > South Africa > Exhibitions
  • Post-apartheid era > South Africa > Exhibitions
  • Photography > South Africa > 20th century > Exhibitions
  • Photography > South Africa > 21st century > Exhibitions
  • Wedding Photography
  • Relationships
  • Portraits
  • Rituals
  • Zulu community
  • Photography
  • Post-apartheid era
  • Social conditions
  • South Africa > Social conditions > 1994- > Exhibitions
Genre/Form
  • Exhibition catalogs.
  • Photobooks.
  • Exhibition, pictorial works.
Note
  • Catalog of an exhibition held 21 May - 4 September, 2022 at Huis Marseille Museum for Photography, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Contents
Emmanuel Balogun -- Discrepant pictures : on Sabelo Mlangeni's Isivumelwano / Athi Mongezeleli Joja -- Tshepiso Mabula ka Ndongeni -- Tshepiso Mazibuko.
ISBN
  • 9789083225142
  • 9083225143
OCLC
  • on1338025402
  • 1338025402
  • SCSB-14322587
Owning Institutions
Columbia University Libraries