Being an identical twin was the inspiration behind a Lovedale College fine art lecturer’s ceramic art exhibition at the Ann Bryant art gallery.Sonwabiso Ngcai, 34, drew on the Xhosa myths, beliefs and rituals that surround twins to mount his head-turning exhibition, named Entwined, One.
The exhibition forms part of his fine art Masters degree at Walter Sisulu University.
One of the more disquieting pieces is a life-like figure of Ngcai lying in the “grave” of his twin Monwabisi, who in reality is alive and well in Pretoria, working for the Department of Arts and Culture.
“In our culture we believe that when a twin is buried, the surviving twin needs to lie inside his grave for a few minutes before the coffin is lowered into it,” explained Ngcai, who made a ceramic mould of his head and hands for the piece. “My brother said if I die before him he won’t lie in my grave; he’ll honour me in another way, but I will do it for him.”
Ngcai said Xhosa culture saw twins as a blessing and growing up in rural Buntingville in Ngqeleni, neighbours would ask him and his brother to walk in their gardens to enhance their crops.
In keeping with tradition, their father planted two euphorbias at the family kraal.
“This commemorates our birth. The belief is that if either gets sick or dies, the same happens to the tree,” said Ngcai. He captures this in a work called Umhlontlo.
Another eye-catching piece consists of 68 cement coins which signifies the Ngcais’ joint ages as well as the belief that a silver coin needs to be thrown into the sea when twins venture into the water.
“Xhosa tradition believes twins are from the sea so you need to throw a silver coin in to ask that the sea doesn’t take them back .”
Another installation, Disconnection, featuring two sets of men’s legs topped with storage trunks. It symbolises the clothing twins exchange when they will be apart geographically. “Twins are believed to have one soul and so before we disconnect, we take each other’s T-shirts so that we feel connected while we’re apart.”
While the artist’s brother chooses not to subscribe to the myths, he attended the exhibition’s opening night.
“It was fascinating because my supervisor could not tell who was who. We are very close and our voices are the same on the phone, so when I call my mother I have to introduce myself.” — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Artist explores sharing a soul
Sonwabiso Ngcai, 34, drew on the Xhosa myths, beliefs and rituals that surround twins to mount his head-turning exhibition, named Entwined, One.
The exhibition forms part of his fine art Masters degree at Walter Sisulu University.
One of the more disquieting pieces is a life-like figure of Ngcai lying in the “grave” of his twin Monwabisi, who in reality is alive and well in Pretoria, working for the Department of Arts and Culture.
“In our culture we believe that when a twin is buried, the surviving twin needs to lie inside his grave for a few minutes before the coffin is lowered into it,” explained Ngcai, who made a ceramic mould of his head and hands for the piece. “My brother said if I die before him he won’t lie in my grave; he’ll honour me in another way, but I will do it for him.”
Ngcai said Xhosa culture saw twins as a blessing and growing up in rural Buntingville in Ngqeleni, neighbours would ask him and his brother to walk in their gardens to enhance their crops.
In keeping with tradition, their father planted two euphorbias at the family kraal.
“This commemorates our birth. The belief is that if either gets sick or dies, the same happens to the tree,” said Ngcai. He captures this in a work called Umhlontlo.
Another eye-catching piece consists of 68 cement coins which signifies the Ngcais’ joint ages as well as the belief that a silver coin needs to be thrown into the sea when twins venture into the water.
“Xhosa tradition believes twins are from the sea so you need to throw a silver coin in to ask that the sea doesn’t take them back .”
Another installation, Disconnection, featuring two sets of men’s legs topped with storage trunks. It symbolises the clothing twins exchange when they will be apart geographically. “Twins are believed to have one soul and so before we disconnect, we take each other’s T-shirts so that we feel connected while we’re apart.”
While the artist’s brother chooses not to subscribe to the myths, he attended the exhibition’s opening night.
“It was fascinating because my supervisor could not tell who was who. We are very close and our voices are the same on the phone, so when I call my mother I have to introduce myself.” — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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