/ WYAA’23

Puseletso Masemene, Ts’ilo le ho Sila, 2023, Tinting medium on canvas Video, 1:18s

Puseletso Masemene 

Ts’ilo le ho Sila

“Frequency is not what we see but how we see” (Campt 2021:78). Through the utilization  of African Indigenous music/song and artmaking this is explored. Within the Sesotho  ethnic group indigenous songs are at times sung through incredibly laborious tasks  performed mostly by women; e.g grinding maize meal (ho sila phoofo) one the skills made  imperative for a tradition orientated woman to possess. Indigenous song becomes the  bedrock of this study as in this particular gendered domestic practice it is through the  song sung that certain aspects of rhythm and frequency manifest, it is through song that  a soundscape of the space is present so much that frequency can be approached as a  visual. My artmaking through printmaking and ho sila withhold a sonic dimension that is  constantly overlooked, it lingers in between the subtle movements when these practices  are performed. I work to acknowledge and document these subtleties, through moving  images, still images and soundscapes. The commonality of rhythm strikes several times; this suggests just how similar these two practices can be. Tanking into consideration how soundscape of a surrounding greatly impacts/draws closer your relationship as the viewer  and the site, this body of work then bridges a gap between identity, artmaking and self. 

My Interest is shared in the rhythm of the hands and the song; literal frequency and  frequency_ how I see this process ranges from the senses that are sync, a dimension of  the sonic sound that cannot be heard or seen at once, a song that builds momentum for  the process and strength.  

Instructions  

Interaction with the work is encouraged for the viewers; the hanging cloth is to be swayed  from side to side, amplifying the sonic sound produced through movement that can be  overlooked easily.