Tuli Mekondjo

Mekondjo also has a performance practice which extends the her archival research and interventions, and locates her personally in the context of Namibian history. The presence of female ancestors is particularly important for Mekondjo, whose connection to her mother and grandmother are the beginning of a cycle of connections to female ancestors stretching back in time. This ties her performances to her two-dimensional works, which often have images of wombs and foetuses embroidered onto them, metaphorically connecting the beginnings of life to the soil and to women.

Mekondjo, whose name means “we are in the struggle”, was born in Angola to Namibian parents who joined SWAPO (South West Africa Peoples’ Organisation) in exile in the early 1980s. She has exhibited widely in Namibia, South Africa, France, the United States, Hong Kong and Germany. In 2022 she became the first black Namibian woman ever to exhibit in the United States, where she is co-represented by Hales. In 2023, her work was shown at Frieze London, Art Central Hong Kong, EXPO Chicago, ARCO Lisboa and Art Joburg. She is represented in multiple international collections.