Mary Sibande

Mary Sibande (born 1982) is a South African artist based in Johannesburg. Her art consists of sculptures, paintings, photography, and design. Sibande uses these mediums and techniques to help depict the human form and explore the construction of identity in a postcolonial South African context. In addition, Sibande focuses on using her work to show her personal experiences while living through Apartheid. Her art also attempts to critique stereotypical depictions of women, particularly Black women. Her mother was a domestic worker herself, and her father was in the South African Army. She did not know her father when she was younger but got to know him when she was a teenager. Sibande has described her childhood as being perfect; she states that "‘I had everything I needed, and I went to a good high school which was multiracial. Many families couldn't afford to send their kids there but I was fortunate that my mum was able to. I guess that also pushed me in a certain direction." Her work contains multiple types of mediums such as sculpture, photography, design, collage, and even theatrics. Sibande's painting and sculpture uses the human form to explore the construction of identity in a postcolonial South African context, but also attempts to critique stereotypical depictions of women, particularly Black women. She was the South African representative at the 45th 2011 Venice Biennale, and her work Long Live the Dead Queen was found in murals all over the city of Johannesburg in 2010. In 2016, her work The Purple Shall Govern toured South Africa. Sibande has also used her artwork to focus on giving voiceless people their voice back. The fabrics and color Sibande chooses to use have different meaning and impacts on her work. In a journal article for the UNISA and Durban Art Gallery article an author named Carol Brown spoke about the usage of fabric in Sibande's work. She states that "The fabric used to produce uniforms for domestic workers is an instantly recognizable sight in domestic spaces in South Africa, and by applying it to Victorian dress she attempts to make a comment about history of servitude and colonization as it relates to the present in terms of domestic relationships."

Sculpture Early in her career Sibande only made small figures out of clay. Later on, the impact of Sibande's background in and knowledge of sculpture became a greater one. With exhibits such as her "Long Live the Dead Queen Series" in 2013, one is able to see the beginning of her character "Sophie" who is one of her best known and reappearing character in her sculptures. Sophie, the main feature in all of her works is a sculpture. Sophie is molded after Sibande herself and is like her alter-ego. Sibande's sculpture draws energy from the long history of female domestic workers, during the apartheid and post-apartheid. The sculpture, Sophie, attempts to critique the long history of oppression in South Africa, specifically regarding black women in South Africa. The use Sibande has for positioning her sculpture, in addition to all of the other components of her work are to evoke an impression on the viewer.

Sophie Sophie has played a large role in Sibande's work. Sophie as previously mentioned is Sibande's alter-ego, she is a domestic worker who finds peace and an escape from servitude by dreaming of emancipating herself. The character is in an imaginary and dream-like world where she is finally free. Sophie makes a reappearance with Sibande's most current series, “I Came Apart at the Seams” which takes place from 2019 to the present.

Collections Sibande's work is held in the following permanent collections: University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

Long Live The Dead Queen, Inner City Johannesburg; Joburg City World Premier Annual Exhibition, Johannesburg; National Arts Festival, Grahamstown, South Africa, 2010 Mary Sibande and Sophie Ntombikayise Take Central Court, Central Court, Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Kansas, USA, 2012 The Purple Shall Govern, Musée d'Art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne, Paris, 2013 The Purple Shall Govern, Grahamstown National Arts Festival, Grahamstown, South Africa, 2013 Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Lyon, France, 2013 The Purple Shall Govern, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town; Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2014 Right Now!, Stellenbosch University's Woordfees Festival, Stellenbosch University's Art Museum, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2016 I came apart at the seams, Somerset House, London, 2019 Mary Sibande: Blue Purple Red, Frist Art Museum, Nashville, Tennessee Sophie/Elsie, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, 2021 Narratives in Focus: Selections from PAMM's Collection, Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida, 2025

Awards and distinctions

2017: Smithsonian National Museum of African Arts Award 2014: Johannesburg Alumni Dignitas Award She has also been a Smithsonian Fellow in Washington DC, a Ampersand Foundation Fellow in New York, and a Fellowship in the University of Michigan Fellowship. In 2018–19, Sibande was the Virginia C. Gildersleeve Professor at Barnard College.