Isaziso 1996 (2023) pays homage to a cherished photograph portraying three generations of women from Buhlebezwe Siwani’s family: her great grandmother, grandmother, and mother. This photograph, captured in black and white during her childhood, was commissioned for a magazine feature spotlighting multigenerational matrilineal families. Each woman depicted in the portrait played a significant role in raising the artist, particularly her great grandmother, who cared for her as the artist’s mother was young and her grandmother frequently traveled abroad for work.
The image serves as a poignant testament to the profound love shared among these women and their broader family. It reflects not only their resilience but also their capacity for warmth and affection, qualities that are often overlooked in depictions of Black women.
To commemorate this familial bond, the artist created the life-sized sculpture, which depicts her grandmother and mother seated on a bench, with the artist positioned on the floor beside her mother’s legs, cradling her own child. The materials chosen for the sculpture are carefully selected to convey its message: the figures are carved in sustainable polyurethane, allowing for intricate detailing, and covered in green soap, a recurring motif in her work. The bench is crafted from dark wood and varnished to a polished finish. In the artist’s words, “it is a sculptural representation of the tenderness between generations”.