Southern Guild
Madoda Fani
Imboni (The one who can see)
This object listing has been archived.
Previously shown at Miami 2021.
Description/
The patterned incisions that have defined Madoda Fani’s work to date become an all-encompassing ‘skin’ in his iQweqwe series of 12 hand-coiled works, exhibited in 2021. The isiXhosa title can be translated as “crust” but here refers to insect exoskeletons, a central fascination for the artist.
The Imboni (The one who can see) vessel is punctuated by two pairs of “eyes”, which are an injunction to open our eyes to see beyond the present into the spiritual realm. This work was made to pay respect to Madoda Fani’s late grandfather and signal a shift to embrace traditional Xhosa spirituality more in his work. The sculpture was made with the intention of spiritual realignment, reorientation and relocation (his grandfather has lived in a house that the family subsequently moved from as it was in a crime-riddled part of the township in South Africa).
Burnished.
Madoda Fani
designer
Color/
Black
Exclusive/
Yes
Material/
Ceramic
Dimension/
48.0 x 86.0 x 45.0 cm (18.9 x 33.9 x 17.7 in)
Style/
Contemporary
Heritage/
South Africa
Ships from/
South Africa
Made to order/
Yes
