Something Keeps Calling Me

Notes

In her practice, Lunga Ntila aims to subvert the inherent assumption of determining one's character based on physical characteristics. To achieve this, the conceptual photographer works with the practice of the amalgamated collage and self-portraiture to obscure and confuse the eye into seeing beyond those that are strictly human.

The present lot, which formed part of the artist's solo exhibition at BKhz entitled Ukuzilanda in 2019, uses the visual act of collecting aspects of the body and imagining the various forms they can assume, which is achieved through stretching, enlarging and re-arranging. The composition is not comprised of only one photograph but instead a collection of many angles and instances of the artist's visage. By obscuring the form of the sitter, it protects them from the unwanted gaze and provides a sense of anonymity which speaks back to the sociopolitical realities of the femme body within South Africa.¹

^1. Zaza Hlalethwa (2019) Lunga Ntila - Ukuzilanda exhibition statement, online, accessed 21 January 2025.

Exhibited

BKhz, Johannesburg, Lunga Ntila-Ukuzilanda, 11 September to 3 October 2019, another example from the edition exhibited.

Literature

Ayla Angelos (2021) It's Nice That, Lunga Ntila uses a cut-and-paste aesthetic to add drama, spirituality and narrative to her work, online, , accessed 22 January 2025.

Thuli Gamedze (2020) 'Redacted portraits, temporary solutions: on the work of Lunga Ntila', News24, online,, accessed 22 January 2025.

Provenance

BKhz by Banele Khoza, Johannesburg, 2019.

Private Collection.