Kulela
Kulela (2019) explores the systemic exploitation of Black women’s domestic and reproductive labor. It rejects the mammy archetype and references rich histories across the African diaspora of women’s resistance against white supremacy. How can painful pasts be reimagined? What can resistance look like in the face of the impossible? What about power? How can the narrative be changed to empower those who have been systematically abused? And what role can (imagined) violence play in reclaiming collective dignity?
Kulela calls into question the very idea of service. Who is the servant and who is the master? How does a history of western (white) imperialism shape how we perceive those in service roles? How consensual is it? And how do those in service roles feel about those they serve?
kyle malanda is a Malawian visual artist whose interdisciplinary work explores the intersections of sexual identity, mental health, tribalism, and generational trauma in an increasingly globalized digital world. She employs techniques ranging from photography and fashion design to augmented reality, glass beadwork, and film.
Using her multi-cultural and transcontinental experiences as a queer Black woman, malanda’s work is an autobiographical reflection of both society and the self/ves. She is based in Lilongwe, Malawi, but is often elsewhere.
Follow her on Twitter: @kylemalanda