Lawrence Lemaoana’s body of work is rooted in a deep interest in the role of mass media in contemporary South Africa. Recognizing the inherent problems in the relationship between media and the public, he critiques existing systems of control, such as the state, the police, and other mechanisms of surveillance, interrogating who has the authority to speak and act for those in power. His work explores the media’s ability to function as both a didactic tool and a propagandist weapon, shaping collective consciousness and influencing social psyche. For the exhibition, Lemoaonana has produced a kanga textile in the Sylvia Wynter Foyer as well as three flags on the Paulette Nardal Terrace. The origin of the kanga garment as a symbol of resistance can be traced back to coastal East Africa in the mid-nineteenth century where it was banned by slave masters, an act of dehumanization enacted to deny enslaved people their vivid communal wears. Locally made from material imported mainly from Asia, the colourful kanga represented a deliberate rejection of the dull, heavy Amerikani canvas cloth that colonial subjects were forced to wear, acting as a strident statement of freedom and autonomy. Lemaoana’s contemporary use of kanga fabric as a canvas draws upon this rich and complex history to portray forms of resistance undertaken by South Africans particularly those affecting marginalized communities. The message in the work ONS DAK NIE, ONS PHOLA HIER (2025), meaning ‘we won’t move’, constitutes a powerful counter to the musafiri experience of voluntary movement and voyaging. It has a long history as a slogan of resistance against displacement, originating in Sophiatown in 1955, a vibrant community that was eventually destroyed by the apartheid regime.

Commissioned by Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), co-produced by Lawrence Lemaoana and HKW, 2024–25

Work in the exhibition: ONS DAK NIE, ONS PHOLA HIER (2025), textile, approx. 600 × 150 cm; Mosa (2025), polyester flag, 450 × 700 cm; Anita (2025), polyester flag, 450 × 700 cm; Kaiser (2025), polyester flag, 450 × 700 cm. Courtesy of the artist