Tuli MEKONDJO MBUMBA, The Stellenbosch Triennale Specials
Tuli Mekondjo (b.1982 Angola) is a Namibian artist whose practice is rooted in the cultural heritage of her country. At the Stellenbosch Triennale, Tuli MEKONDJO presents an immersive body of work Eshina lyo ku topa topa/Typewriter which moves the public. In the world of the artist, every details is intentional, from the use of the mahangu grain to the reference to the typewriter, the artist revisit the colonial past of Namibia and pays tribute to the women of her ancestry starting from her family.
Tuli MEKONDJO
In this exclusive interview, Tuli MEKONDJO invites us to dive deep into forgotten chapters of Namibia while exploring the inspirations behind her installation at the Stellenbosch Triennale Eshina lyo ku topa topa/Typewriter.
Ngalula MAFWATA : Where does your story with art begin ?
Tuli MEKONDJO MBUMBA : My journey with art began in 1990. When Namibia gained independence, I arrived in Namibia with my mother and baby sister from the SWAPO Refugee camp in Zambia at the age of 8. I traveled with my mother to meet my grandparents and relatives in her village. The first time I met my grandmother, I ran across the mahangu field to embrace her. Grandma ululated with joy when she saw her daughter alive. As I embraced my grandmother, unsure of who she was, I was fascinated by the deep grooves and cracks on her hands from toiling the soil and planting the mahangu seed. As I caressed and felt her hands, I felt connected not only to my maternal grandmother but also to all my ancestors. This moment of connection allowed me to access the ancestral realms and receive ancestral creative knowledge from my ancestors. Today, the voices and creative energies of my ancestors are channeled through me as a self-taught multi-media creative channel.
Eshina lyo ku topa topa, Tuli MEKONDJO, ©JumpinTheGun, Stellenbosch Triennale 2025
“As I embraced my grandmother, unsure of who she was, I was fascinated by the deep grooves and cracks on her hands from toiling the soil and planting the mahangu seed. ”
Ngalula MAFWATA : Eshina lyo ku topa topa/Typewriter exudes a ceremonial atmosphere. How did you conceive the story behind it ?
Tuli MEKONDJO MBUMBA : Eshina lyo ku topa topa is deeply rooted in the archives. In 'Eshina lyo ku topa topa/Typewriter,' I stage a ceremony that honors my Namibian women ancestors. The performance transforms a moment of colonial communication into a space of ancestral honoring, drawing inspiration from the German colonial era in Namibia (1884-1919). One day, I examined archival images of Namibian women and realized that the typewriter was a communication tool used by the colonial administration to type out documents of extermination orders (Von Trotha), place us in concentration camps, and create our documents as contract laborers, our passes, and to place us in reserves. Eshina lyo ku topa topa is complex, communicating layers of trauma.
Ngalula MAFWATA : Your work explores the intersection of colonial history and personal identity. How does your choice of materials like mahangu grain and natural silks reflect Namibia's complex past and your personal connection to it?
Tuli MEKONDJO MBUMBA : The selection of mahangu grain is deeply connected to Namibia's colonial history, particularly the colonial and apartheid systems of contract labor. Young men from Northern Namibia (Owambo) were recruited to work as farm workers, garden boys, and mine workers in central and southern Namibia, extracting natural resources such as copper and diamonds for European (German) and Apartheid South Africa's economies. Meanwhile, women in Northern Namibia were left to toil the land, plant mahangu, harvest, and care for livestock, all while tending to their children. During colonial times and to this day, women and mothers in our societies are the backbone , constantly picking up the broken pieces and mending colonial traumas. To me, mahangu, metaphorically speaking, represents the return of the ancestors to the land/soil. During every planting season, we always keep some seed for planting, for the next season, for their next return. The wild silk is a metaphor for a garment or piece of cloth that holds the essence and fibers of trauma. Every single time, I embroider fetuses and the womb.
“One day, I examined archival images of Namibian women and realized that the typewriter was a communication tool used by the colonial administration to type out documents of extermination orders (Von Trotha), place us in concentration camps, and create our documents as contract laborers, our passes, and to place us in reserves. ”
Eshina lyo ku topa topa, Tuli MEKONDJO, ©JumpinTheGun, Stellenbosch Triennale 2025
Ngalula MAFWATA : In your performance practice, you describe your body as a 'memory cell.' How do you view your physical presence as a medium for channeling the memories of your ancestors and of women ?
Tuli MEKONDJO MBUMBA : My physical presence has always been a channel of memories, harboring the trauma of my ancestors. The body constantly remembers the violence inflicted upon it, and these pains and generational wounds are constantly rebirthed. The body creates a trauma map directly connected to the trauma of the land, where the physical traumas occurred. For example, the Ovaherero and Nama Genocide of 1904-1907 shows that even though this genocide happened over 100 years ago, our bodies remember, and perhaps this is why some women in Namibia are unable to conceive due to the sexual violence that occurred in 1904. It is important to also talk about the trauma of the land/soil whenever we talk about the physical traumas of the body because the land/soil also creates a memory.
“The wild silk is a metaphor for a garment or piece of cloth that holds the essence and fibers of trauma. Every single time, I embroider fetuses and the womb.”
Ngalula MAFWATA : Cultural memory seems central to your work. How does it play a role in shaping the storytelling within your art, and how do you convey this to the audience?
Tuli MEKONDJO MBUMBA : Namibia's independence in 1990 allowed us to explore our identity within the archives, which were previously dominated by a colonial perspective. During the German colonial occupation and Apartheid regime, we were constantly observed and photographed by a colonial gaze. Now, we can truly see ourselves as Namibians and understand how colonialism and apartheid shaped our cultural memory. My storytelling is directly inspired by the archives, whether through sound, photographs, or cultural objects still held in European museums. The archives become the performance, the canvas, and I convey the colonial traumas of my people that I encounter within them.
Ngalula MAFWATA : Looking ahead, what are your aspirations, and which themes or subjects do you wish to explore further in your future works?
Tuli MEKONDJO MBUMBA : I am currently focused on experimenting and exploring unconventional ways to express my themes and subjects. My themes and subjects are not fixed; they may arise from archival photographs or research trips on colonialism and apartheid around Windhoek or Namibia. I am exploring fluidity and other mediums, such as weaving, which also have a colonial history in Namibia. The future is always uncertain, but the past holds valuable lessons, and the present moment deserves to be lived authentically and purposefully.
The Stellenbosch Triennale will run until the 30 April 2025 with three exhibitions. Find out more about Tuli MEKONDJO on her personal spaces and on Artsy.
