Ubuthongo obungasapheliyo (2023)
In this ongoing photographic series, Thembi Mthembu pays homage to those who have passed, remembering that life does not end with death in Zulu culture.
"My ongoing photographic series, titled Ohlengiweyo [The saved one], is inspired by my late sister, Hlengiwe Samukelisiwe Mthembu. In it, I celebrate souls freed by death. I imagine those who have passed on and how they stay present and participate with us in our daily activities as spirits, even after they’ve departed from the physical world.
In this piece, I pay tribute to my sister by depicting our interactions since her departure, which have been in the realm of dreams. I also acknowledge her as my ancestor and, in doing so, portray the historical Zulu tradition of ancestral worship. Zulu culture acknowledges the most-high deity"
—Thembi Mthembu
