Cape Argus tells our story for Mother's Day

‘MAMA’ ART A HOMAGE TO SOCIETY’S CAREGIVERS: Portraits of Khayelitsha mothers depict strength, courage and hope

SOON, the face of 40- year- old Khayelitsha mother Nandiwe Sylvia Magadla will be blown up, printed on a poster, and plastered to the concrete wall next to the kiosk she owns in the centre of Harare. Though the team that photographed Magadla love the shot of her smiling, she wants to be depicted straight-faced, a sentiment that echoes the purpose of the portrait: to depict the mothers in townships as more than nameless entities who cook, clean and care for the community, but as its strong, pivotal, bold-faced backbone.

Mama Watch, a public art project that will see huge black and white portraits of local mothers pasted on public walls, is a burgeoning community initiative started by Ukrainian artist Valerie Geselev and two Khayelitsha locals, Andile Fokazi and Unathi Mkhokeli last month.It’s gaining momentum just in time for Mother’s Day.The trio has been slowly infiltrating the sisterhood of neighbourhood “mamas” to hear their stories and take their pictures, hoping to empower the unsung heroes of everyday life by pasting their pictures over sprawling graffiti and peeling adverts that coat the city walls.They said reactions from “mamas” have been hesitant and untrusting, an expected response from a close-knit army of caregivers for whom familiarity is often key to survival.

“They’re not used to seeing themselves in public,” Fokazi said.“We want to show them that someone does care about you, that you must not be afraid of showing yourself.”Fokazi said the irony is that the same women who are most often victims of crime in their own towns are the same people trying desperately to protect their children and their families. They hope the pictures will discourage violence against women by sending a “soft but strong” message.“Some women are afraid to walk on the street because they don’t know those people in the area,” Fokazi said. By plastering pictures of local women who vary in appearance but are united in motherhood, “we are trying to fight that fear”.

Geselev got the idea for Mama Watch from Inside Out, an international street art project that “gives everyone the opportunity to share their portrait and make a statement for what they stand for”.She linked up with Fokazi and Mkhokeli at various committees for non-violence in the communities and the trio has recruited young men to take pictures, update the website, manage social media and co-ordinate funding.

One of the team members, Lindokuhle Bikitsha, said in a blog post that he feels particularly passionate about the project because he was raised by a single mother.He said that society does not see women as powerful, strong or as protectors. “We do not have that culture instilled in us. We know that the opposite is true, but we do not acknowledge it.”Geselev said it’s “not only about putting pictures on a wall”, but about empowering women by showing them that the community respects them, the youth supports them, and they can feel safe fighting for the future of their families, and themselves.