Tshepiso Moropa
The Joy, 2023
Manual Collage on Epson Premium Luster 260gsm.
25 x 35.5cm
Edition of 7
COA
Tshepiso Moropa
Moropa's work explores themes of identity, family relations, violence, race, gender, love and sexuality, solitude and the sense of belonging. Her subject matter is either a self-portrait or archived images...
Moropa's work explores themes of identity, family relations, violence, race, gender, love and sexuality, solitude and the sense of belonging. Her subject matter is either a self-portrait or archived images of African women found in library resources or research sites on the internet. A rich source of material is also found in African folkloric tales that the artist translates from Setswana and re-constructs as short animations, She explores connections between South Africans living today and their forgotten ancestors, describing this process as a way of bringing the figures in the photographs back to life. In this way the archive becomes an important site of excavation and recreation. The archived image serves as a proxy for memory - particularly memory relating to cultural heritage and the present time: "they celebrate blackness, being black, being proud of ourselves and our heritage and culture. It is not about finding a sense of belonging within others. It is about finding a sense of belonging within ourselves".