MWANA

Winner of CSM’s 2023 Museum Graduate Award

MWANA (meaning baby in Shona) represents the physical pouring gesture during the Ritual of Libation. A fusion of symbolism and spirituality. This Vessel pays homage to the Shona, Bantu peoples' sacred rituals and the African/Caribbean diaspora, forging a dialogue to our ancestral heritage and preserving our pre-colonial identities.

Within my family, we have always incorporated traditional Shona spirituality; Mwari, my mother specifically, always reminded me to pour libations, and her father was very insistent to pour libations at parties and funerals to pay respects to our ancestors. Designing and making MWANA was therapeutic, as I had to employ an auto-ethnographic methodology to orally research the wealth of knowledge within my family and community.

I named the Vessel 'MWANA' (which translates to baby) to view a baby through a cyclical lens. The Baby has been here before in previous lifetime, and the Baby is actually the ancestor in a new life form because energy/life has only been transferred and not created.

Distinguished by its innovative design, the Vessel features a spherical base that intentionally employs instability and imbalance.

Materials used: PLA, Maize Meal/Hupfu (texture) & spraypaint.

Dissertation available upon request.

Central Saint Martins Museum & Study Collection Online

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