Unsettling Gender Stereotypes
by Kim Gurney
As a young child, Venda sculptor Noria Mabasa was already breaking gender stereotypes. Born to a family with few sons, her duties included tending the family's animals - a job usually left to the boys. It is a pattern that seems to repeat itself through her life, according to the latest Taxi art publication dedicated to Mabasa's work.
For one thing, she works in wood - a medium traditionally associated in Venda culture with men. Her twisted wooden figures of The Flood (1994) and Union Buildings (1999) are some of her better known. Mabasa also makes figurative ceramics, some of which were included in the first Johannesburg Biennale in 1994.
As Kathryn Straughan writes, Mabasa derives her inspiration and points of reference from cultural traditions deeply informed by spiritual influences. In fact, becoming a sculptor was triggered by nocturnal exhortations that led to her current prize-winning career. Rayda Becker, in an accompanying essay, puts Mabasa's work into a broader context with reference to the vagaries of the art market as well as identity politics.
This book is the seventh in the Taxi series, published in April by David Krut. The series was started in 2000 to help redress the lack of contemporary South African art material. Noria Mabasa certainly goes some way to achieving that aim. It provides an easily readable glimpse into her life and work, accompanied by strong colour photographs. Although it focuses on Mabasa's strong rural community ties, the book points out how she simultaneously defies many culture-linked gender expectations.
The book,Noria Mabasa: TAXI-007(ISBN 0-9584496-5-1), is edited by Karen Press with essays by Dr. Rayda Becker and Kathryn Straughan. It includes Noria Mabasa: TAXI-007 Educational Supplement, edited by Bettina Schultz with essay by Wilhelm van Rensburg. The combined price is R150. The book is available at most Exclusive bookstores nationwide.
For further details on availability, contact: Fiona Walsh (fiona@taxiartbooks.com) or Bettina Schultz (bettina@taxiartbooks.com) at David Krut Publishing on (011) 880 4242.
