Turiya Magadlela (b. 1978 - Soweto, SA) studied at the Funda Community College under Charles Nkosi, the University of Johannesburg, and the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. Magadlela works with art-making techniques that are traditionally used by women, using embroidery and sewing with various culturally and socially loaded materials, from pantyhose to sheeting and correctional service uniforms, and creates powerful abstract compositions by cutting, stitching, and stretching these materials across wooden frames. Her subject matter moves between articulations of personal experiences of woman and motherhood, and narratives from black South African history. Magadlela engages in a conversation on the colonization of black bodies and women; her art uses materials capitalist in nature at a time when commoditization is ever more prescient.
In 2017, Magadlela presented a solo exhibit at The Armory Show, NY. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions both locally and internationally, including Blue Black, curated by Glenn Ligon at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation; Simple Passion, Complex Vision: The Darryl Atwell Collection at the Gantt Centre; The Past is Present at Jack Shainman Gallery; and Blackness in Abstraction at Pace Gallery. In 2015, she was awarded the prestigious FNB Art Prize. In 2018, Magadlela was featured in a list of the top “10 African artists to invest in now” by the TimesLive, and shortlisted for the Jean-François Prat Prize.
Can you tell me about your practice? How do you get started on a piece of work?
Practically, when I’m not sorting out a waiting list, the material or fabric or object almost finds me, this leads me to a question of numbers, for example: How many pieces do I need to emphasise my story? Then between heaps of anxiety, I make an object from the object I’ve found. With my goal being beauty and telling a story.
Who are your biggest influences?
I am really influenced by music: Bobby McFerrin, Focalistic, Maphorisa, Queen... The action of music telling simple stories about life really resonates with me. Art and literature meet. Richie Culver is my greatest influence.
Can you talk about femininity and womanhood in relation to your practice?
Can I? No, because I’m a woman living in an extremely patriarchal world. Even if I painted dots, or long lines, the energy would just translate into femininity and womanhood. One cannot separate that, it’s like tongue and saliva.... or foot and shoe.
How important is material in your work?
So I can paint, but I feel the best stories ever told are literal. That means what is, is. A sheet with blood stains, for example, a photograph will never capture that reality.
I can’t separate myself from the material. But because I’m making art and I don’t like disposable art I have spent a long time figuring out the use of material, taking into consideration environmental factors. That’s important to me.
What is your most important tool? Is there something you can’t live without in your studio?
My essentials would have to be a staple gun, staples and a great pair of scissors.
Can you give us a book recommendation that has been important in your practice? And tell us why it’s important.
I don’t read as much as I should, I enjoy looking at images more and with my use of social media I find that time available to read is limited. However, I have read most Maya Angelou books, Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye”, Alice Walker’s “The Colour Purple”, Richard Wright’s “Black Boy” and Liz Gilbert's “Big Magic: How to Live a Creative Life and Let Go of Your Fear”. These books have opened my eyes to themes of incest, lesbianism, and physical hunger. They have taught me that it’s ok to feel ugly as a black girl, that insecurities are normal and we all have pains we must battle and overcome.
Finally, is there anything new coming up that you would like to tell us about?
Art is weird. It has to be created so I can’t say, I will continue to create this and that. I just have to make! I have upcoming shows in Paris, but I am afraid I cannot say too much about it yet...
Image Order:
Turiya Magadlela, 'Something about purple and red that screams erotically sexually deprived (II)', 2021, Nylon and cotton pantyhose and sealant on canvas, 1000 x 1000mm
Turiya Magadlela, 'Incosi ye ngamle (The Fortune Baby) II', 2019, Nylon and cotton pantyhose, thread and sealant on canvas, 1200 x 1200mm
Turiya Magadlela, 'Untitled', 2018, Nylon and cotton pantyhose, thread and sealant on canvas, 1200 x 1200mm
Turiya Magadlela, '‘iMaid ka Love Series (Sugar and Spice I)‘, 2018, Nylon and cotton pantyhose, thread and sealant on canvas, 1200 x 1200mm
Turiya Magadlela, 'Incosi ye ngamle (The Fortune Baby) I', 2019, Nylon and cotton pantyhose, thread and sealant on canvas, 1200 x 1200mm
Turiya Magadlela, 'Khala, Colour, Color (Swan Lake Series)', 2018, Nylon and cotton pantyhose, thread and sealant on canvas, 1500 x 1500mm