Simone Khanyi Hadebe

// in motion

This thesis explores the connection that land plays in grounding the cultural practices identity of minority tribes in Botswana. Using animation and illustration that mirrors the style of San cave paintings, I weave together San and Shekgalakgadi stories in an immersive storytelling experience. Viewers are invited to follow this transcendental depiction of cultural identity, leading us to question themes of anthropocentrism, language bias and citizenship. Through projections onto patterned textiles, the movement of original cave paintings will come alive and the land will show the vibrancy of its inhabitants. Whilst I want this project to stand as a celebration of the diversity and history of these minority tribes, it will also interrogate the question of what it means to be a Motswana, where citizenship is so deeply tied to a unified Tswana identity. I want to push the idea that to be a Motswana, you have to speak Setswana and have a homogenized identity. 
 

Images

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