Ancestral Recall: Thebe Magugu
Using fashion to systematically document culture, fashion designer Thebe Magugu conveys the quiet power of the African ancestral plane in this film, and carefully seeks to capture the feverish dream-state of an Ancestral Recall.
Using fashion to systematically document culture, fashion designer Thebe Magugu conveys the quiet power of the African ancestral plane in this film, and carefully seeks to capture the feverish dream-state of an Ancestral Recall.
- How would you describe what you do?
Thebe Magugu: My name is Thebe Magugu and I use the medium of fashion to systematically document culture.
What's your background?
TM: I studied fashion design, fashion photography and fashion media in South Africa.
- What inspires you?
TM: Curiosity, flaws and commitment.
What is the ambition behind your practice?
TM: The idea behind the brand, which was established in 2016, is rooted in the idea of education, acting as an encyclopedia informing the world about the stories and craft the brand finds itself in.
What did you hope to convey with your Bodies Of Knowledge film?
TM: The quiet power of the African ancestral plane, which has a very particular kind of strength, one that doesn’t show off and relies heavily on the natural.
As many of us know, African Spirituality - which is exceptional in its plurality - is primarily based on the relationship we have with our ancestors, and any disruption between this line results in existential thoughts, and sometimes serious illness. Connection to the ancestors in African culture is critical, and can be done using various mediums - objects of divination, the knuckles of goats, a large body of water - and this film carefully seeks to capture the feverish dream-state of an Ancestral Recall. It’s a very particular kind of strength, one that doesn’t show-off and relies heavily on the natural to make the unimaginable.
