eBhish' - articulations of Black Oceanic presence eThekwini

Nyawose, Luvuyo Equiano

eBhish' - articulations of Black Oceanic presence eThekwini

Master Thesis

2022

Abstract

The legacies of colonialism and apartheid echo in many forms of social practice in contemporary South Africa. Ibhish' laseThekwini (the Durban beachfront), a seaside public space, is imbued with a racialized tension that stems from these colonial histories. Historically, the beach was the nation's premier seaside destination and drew crowds of white beachgoers, particularly during the summer holiday season. Beach culture was established and sustained through visualisation, particularly in popular culture and media, which largely catered to white people. The beach pictorial archives housed at the Old Court House Museum eThekwini reflects this bias, as we find that in it, the predominance of white beachgoers is depicted throughout the beach's history. Since the 1990s, demarcations of those previously white beach areas changed with more Black beachgoers in the predominantly public beaches and white beachgoers relegating themselves in more secluded (lesser public and more private) areas. I have been documenting Black beachgoers to understand the nuances of Black social life ebhishi (at the beach). In the understanding of this social life, one of the notions that become important is the ocean as a witness. We might think of the ocean as a subject which holds memory. This is particularly important in my work as it looks at how I relate to the ulwandle (the ocean) and engage with the beach as a meeting point of Black people in summer holidays, and as an articulation of an unnameable space (a metaphysical realm) beyond the constraints of capitalist leisure which is crucial for spiritual survival. Through my work, I'm contributing to a contemporary archive of Black social life ebhishi, one with humanising, tender and intimate moments aimed at inscribing our place in the seaside eThekwini.

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Fine Art

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