Yakhal' Inkomo

The exhibition Yakhal’Inkomo and its program explore how Black South African visual artists, musicians, poets, theatre makers, filmmakers and writers forged acts of creative defiance during the most tumultuous times under apartheid (1960s to late 1990s). Working across media, artists not only recorded their pain and trauma, they redefined and celebrated their identity against the cultural imposition of the state. While the voices and actions of many of these artists were limited by censorship and suppression, their contributions were instrumental in keeping Black culture alive and resilient during the struggle years. The title Yakhal’ Inkomo is derived from a 1968 jazz recording by the saxophonist and jazz composer Winston Mankunku Ngozi. Translated as “the bellowing bull”, it refers to the bull’s fundamental role in African life, symbolizing spiritual passage, awakening and resilience as well as material wealth, strength, collectivity and community. Ngozi’s anthem delves into the Black psyche and conjures up feelings of deep remorse, anguish and anger. But it is also a testament to the strength and resilience of creativity in the face of grief and dispossession. As a metaphor for this exhibition, we understand the bull’s cry as an awakening that unified Black people to confront and resist oppression Drawn primarily from the Bongi Dhlomo Collection, the artworks included in this exhibition explore the complexity of the Black experience of urbanization, estrangement, displacement, spirituality, and the texture of ordinary life. They capture seminal moments in the history of people’s defiance of state oppression. Recovering dialogues between Black artists across genres and media, the exhibition traces decades of exchange that corresponded to the growing restlessness and active resistance of the Black community. These works provide an opportunity to recover and acknowledge this past, and to envision future possibilities of mobilizing its power in the present. In other words, the exhibition takes ownership of this history and explores what it means to be Black in South Africa today. Yakhal’Inkomo is guest curated by Tumelo Mosaka with Sipho Mndanda as Co-Curator and Phumzile Twala as Research and Education Coordinator.