with DJ-set by Robert Machiri

In her artistic practice, Lerato Shadi critically examines gaps and omissions in historical narratives, bringing marginalised bodies and perspectives to the fore. Her work reflects upon the violence of inaccurate historiographies, demanding an immediate confrontation with them. Elderly care workers possess knowledge about being old and ageing that frequently remains invisible and vanishes from social awareness. In their daily bodily and interpersonal interactions with the elderly, they are obliged to strike a balance between efficiency and people’s needs: when bathing someone, helping them get out of bed and get dressed, conversing with them, touching their shoulder.

The title Maropeng comes from the Setswana saying »Maropeng go a boelwa go sa boelweng ke teng«. In Setswana, Maropeng means »returning to the place of origin« or »returning home«. At the end of the two-year exhibition series on the theme of solidarity, labour and care, Lerato Shadi transforms the Galerie im Turm into a space that allows us to reflect upon the relationship between history, the present and the future. In an expansive installation, we are confronted with our own gaze. Shadi’s work visualises the permanent unfolding of history in the here and now. The moment of observation raises questions about our own entanglement and positioning in historical processes: To what extent are my gaze and body shaped by history? What experiences does this facilitate, and what do I remain unable to experience? What responsibility do we bear towards our history and its presence in today’s world?

Shadi’s Maropeng is a postcolonial and feminist return of the question of the social situatedness of knowledge and the never-ending possibility of change and new beginnings. Maropeng is the final instalment in the exhibition series MY WORKING WILL BE THE WORK: on self/care, labour and solidarity, curated by Linnéa Meiners and Jorinde Splettstößer.

CC BY-NC-ND Lerato Shadi, MAROPENG, 2022