The Titanium Project
The Titanium Project
'My quest is to bring to life Titanium (my pseudo persona) who actively express gender fluidity in ways that remind the society at large the ties of humanity that bind all gender expressions and sexuality.
'My quest for belonging and success has brought me against the full force of conservative ideology in South African society. As a queer person of colour I have found it difficult to feel as represented by any single demographic. With my art, I try to quietly and persuasively challenge narrowly-defined concepts like gender and race - with the understanding that no-one fits these boxes perfectly. I believe that gender is defined by experience and I draw on Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity... 'This quest has guided my art practice to the series titled "In Titanium". In this series, I'm exploring an imaginary escape planet where gender is non-binary. Titaniums (people in Titanium) value the spirit of each person more than the body. With understanding that one body is the vessel enabling the spirit to have a human experience.'
Performance Photography (2018-2020) Concept & Performance: Nomusa Musa Mtshali Photography: Thalente Khomo / Lindeka Qampi
About the artist
Nomusa Musa Mtshali is a full-time, contemporary artist based in Durban South Africa. Mtshali is a mixed media artist with skills varying from painter, sculptor, installations and performance. In 2019 Mtshali was commissioned by Prof Zanele Muholi to interpret Muholi's Somnyama Ngonyama photography portfolio. The interpretations were exhibited at KZNSA (KwaZulu Natal Sociaty of Art) the exhibition tittled IKhono laseNatal. Mtshali curated a pop up exhibition titled 'Ukuba' by professional, conceptual photographers and visual artist, Thalente Khomo and Thembi Mthembu. You can discover more of this artist's work here.
-