Buqaqawuli Nobakada, (2000)

Nobakada is currently in her 3rd year of Fine Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her primary medium is acrylic paint on laced paper, often accentuated with custom clay or gold jewelry. Nobakada uses the relationship between paint, paper, and lace to explore themes about growth, intimacy, sensuality, and womanhood. The texture and complexity of the surfaces of her works are reminiscent of lace curtains from her maternal grandmother’s home where it was the responsibility of the women to care for and repair the delicate and mosaic-like textile. The chore was considered a right passage and an initiation into womanhood for the young women in the family. For Baququwuli it was her introduction to gender roles and norms, yet it was also where she learned the tenets of coming of age from her sisters and cousins.