#njelele

Nancy Mteki exists on the axis of self exploration in a society that shames whilst simultaneously sexualizing and objectifying the black female form.

 “Ah honai akarambwa nemurume, ah achadiwa nani? Mirai achazvara vamwe vana vasina ana baba”.

 The creation of the collection consciously draws from her personal narrative and subjectivity presenting a layered bricolage of freedom. Using the juxtaposition of ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’, she sheds off each piece of clothing, debunking the gender myth and releasing herself from the yoke of oppression. Her body transcends space encountering and challenging the public gaze, revealing her vulnerability and displaying her power.

 Equipped with the camera and experience of rejection, mothering and loss, she is inviting the audience to her reawakening. Boldly she stares at you against the backdrop of domesticity rewriting history and challenging the narrative of black African female voicelessness. Each image layered with political force, freezing time and space, pushes one to reimagine ‘woman’, ‘man’ and ultimately ‘self’.