Samantha
Maseko is a South African artist born in Mpumalanga. She currently
resides
in Johannesburg where she graduated and works as a professional
printmaker
and visual artist.
Samantha’s
work stems from a process of learning, discovering, and healing, It revolves
around the themes of feminism and identity which allows her to explore with
ranges of mediums such as oil painting, collage, printmaking and mixed medium.
With
aims of showing the versatility of the subject matter and allowing people to
connect with the work, Samantha is interested in the historical events that
leads black women to bleach their skin and replace their natural hair with
synthetic or straightening presumably to fit into certain beauty standards.
Through
an exploration of renaissance history and Tignon Laws, Samantha explores the intersections
of identities which she departs from in her creation of a combination of little
black girls and young women embracing modern afro hairstyles while wearing ruff
collars[1] (which
could have been taboo back then).
Samantha
advocates for the celebration of afro hair and hairstyling rallying against it
being regarded as a downgrade. She regards black afro as a symbol of status and
power with reference to the popular terms such as “crowning glory” to refer to
hair.
The series
of work, "There was Shame, then came pride" and "A sense of self"
serves as a cathartic dialogue between little girls and every black woman.
[1] Ruff collars refer to a a historical piece of fabric which was worn by upper-class people symbolizing
"Status"
