Mary Sibande is a South African artist who lives and works in South Africa. Much of her works are a commentary on the image of black women as domestic workers through the use of a central character “Sophie.” Sophie is depicted in Sibande’s ongoing series “Long Live the Dead Queen,” which incorporates aspects of Victorian finery as seen through the art of the Victorian era.
Images from the series have been depicted all over the world, in many mediums, ranging from large-scale paintings to elaborate installation works and sculpture. Often the images of Sophie are presented in public spaces without context.
Though some may see the works as a harsh reminder of the position that black women were and continue to be in, Sibande see’s Sophie as a positive character and a way of looking toward a bright future for South Africa’s youth.
A lot of people got the idea that Sophie is a strong woman… My work is not about complaining about apartheid, or an invitation to feel sorry for me because I am black and my mothers were maids. It is about celebrating what we are as women in South Africa today and for us to celebrate, we need to go back, to see what are we are celebrating. To celebrate, I needed to bring this maid.
There is a lot of Western influence in the definition of today’s South African women: they are ”vuka uzenzele” meaning wake-up and do-it-yourself type of persons, go-getters. We are a young democracy, we are the “born free’s”. In my generation, a lot of women get an education and they are career- focused. For example, I am twenty-nine now and I am building my life. By comparison, my mother had me when she was twenty.”
Sibande sees Sophie as a positive character and a way of looking toward a bright future for South Africa’s youth.
A lot of people got the idea that Sophie is a strong woman… My work is not about complaining about apartheid, or an invitation to feel sorry for me because I am black and my mothers were maids. It is about celebrating what we are as women in South Africa today and for us to celebrate, we need to go back, to see what are we are celebrating. To celebrate, I needed to bring this maid.
There is a lot of Western influence in the definition of today’s South African women: they are ”vuka uzenzele” meaning wake-up and do-it-yourself type of persons, go-getters. We are a young democracy, we are the “born free’s”. In my generation, a lot of women get an education and they are career- focused. For example, I am twenty-nine now and I am building my life. By comparison, my mother had me when she was twenty.
