Akwande: still coming of age

Sakhile&Me is pleased to present Akwande: still coming of age, a duo exhibition with Zana (Ndebele Superhero) Masombuka and Lloyd Kofi Foster. The exhibition opens on 8 February and run until 30 March, 2024.

‘Akwande’ (meaning ‘let it be abundant/may it grow’ in Zulu) is the physical iteration of Coming of Age, a 2021 online-only exhibition with Zana Masombuka and Lloyd Foster. The exhibition includes photographic work, a sensory installation, and a documentary film.

The title of the exhibition takes from Masombuka’s project by the same name, Akwande, a word that places emphasis on abundant thinking and may be uttered as a greeting or as an exclamation following an achievement. Masombuka’s “Isizungu” series, which will form part of the exhibition, references bringing indigenous plants into domestic spaces and out of isolation and it also speaks to the significance of solitude in a time of grieving – the bereaved goes inward when in mourning to reacquaint themselves with themselves. These works are shown alongside Lloyd Foster’s series “Two Worlds, Same Energy”, a series of mainly black and white photographs highlighting camaraderie, shared game play and cross-cultural transfers of knowledge, specifically documenting Black youth in Ghana learning about and playing a particular form of basketball (’33’) local to the Washington D.C. area. The youth pictures in this series were inspired by the a short documentary film, "33 | DCs Game" on the game of 33 played in the Washington D.C. area and courtesy of Foster and his co-producers, the film is also included as an accessible QR code as part of the exhibition.

Lloyd Kofi Foster is a Ghanaian-American interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn who works primarily with photography as well as sculpture, installation, video and mixed media. Foster uses these media to capture daily life and the interactions of the people and places he encounters. The artist also uses personal connections, memories, and his perception to reflect his dual identity as a Ghanaian-American and he continues to be inspired by his personal experiences and ancestral curiosity.

Foster's work has been exhibited at BWI Airport International Art Gallery in Baltimore, USA; LagosPhoto Festival in Lagos, Nigeria; the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C., USA; the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in Washington, D.C., USA; the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., USA; Prince Georges African American Museum in Brentwood, USA; and IA&A at Hillyer in Washington, D.C., USA. In addition to his creative practice, Foster was an adjunct professor at New York University and holds an MFA in Studio Art from NYU. He is also founder of Yeboah Studios, a platform to bridge African countries and the diaspora through art, fashion, film and other creative means and in collaboration with other creatives.

Zana ‘Ndebele Superhero’ Masombuka is a young Johannesburg-based conceptual artist and creative director who draws inspiration from her upbringing in rural KwaNdebele, in a small town called Siyabuswa. She is an International Studies graduate from Stellenbosch University, where she learnt the art of critical thinking, as well as the importance of globalization and how it continues to impact the African continent.

Masombuka’s practice speaks to African's active role in the next wave of this global phenomena and how African artists aim to pioneer the stories being written about their continent and its people, which is fundamental to the preservation of their heritage. Masombuka makes reference to a statement by Mazrui in "The Re-Invention of Africa: Edward Said, V.Y Mudimbe and Beyond," which asserts that Africans need to interpret their history themselves and seek to re-invent Africa on their own terms. Through this framing, "Ndebele Superhero" acts as a platform through which Masombuka incorporates Ndebele culture in her work and explores traditions, knowledge systems, rituals, as well as the evolutionary processes of culture and their interactions with and potential impact on modernity and technology. Alongside her creative practice, Masombuka co-operates a community accessible herbal garden with her sister located in the Maboneng arts district in Johannesburg.