The threads of resistance

Textiles hold memory, meaning and power – challenging erasure, celebrating resilience

- Puleng Segalo

As you enter the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria, you see a towering wooden sculpture standing there, making its presence known.

It is a beautifully crafted sculpture commemorating the women who marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria in 1956 to protest the oppressive, inhumane pass laws.

It is symbolic of the perpetual silencing and “invisibilising” of women and their role in society.

Crafted several years ago by artist Noria Mabasa, the sculpture languished in storage in a government museum an altogether too familiar narrative. Like so many contributions made by women, it remained hidden for too long.

Indian scholar Gayatri Spivak's concept of "the subaltern" highlights the plight of women neglected and impeded, mocked and constrained by colonial and patriarchal structures.

Refusing to properly commemorate women's contributions in our historical archives and at memorial sites is a form of mockery and undermines both their labour and the sacrifices they made to the struggle for the liberation of the oppressed.

The University of Pretoria Museums is hosting an exhibition titled Bokgabo ba Masela: Art of Textiles, curated by Uthando Baduza.

Aligned with the reflection above about the silencing of women, the exhibition attempts to flip the script on how we see women and their contributions in history and in our imagination of the future.

It highlights the role of textiles and their political and social relevance as we think about materials and design.

In the African context, textiles are used symbolically to communicate wisdom, strength and community.

Textiles have also been used to convey messages, proverbs and stories, serving as a visual language.