Amabheqe emihla ngemihla, 2023. dimensions variable4

Close-up view of the installation "Amabheqe emihla ngemihla" (2023), showing detailed textures and forms inspired by isiZulu petroglyphs used in everyday spiritual and cultural life.

“Amabheqe emihla ngemihla”, meaning “Daily Amabheqe”, is a newspaper-based installation that repositions isiZulu petroglyphic symbols as part of daily visual and intellectual engagement. Using mass-printed media — a material of everyday circulation — Radebe inscribes indigenous forms of knowledge into one of the most disposable and widely consumed formats in contemporary society. The amabheqe, traditionally associated with spiritual protection, communication, and epistemic continuity, are layered across the installation to evoke questions around memory, erasure, and reclamation. By situating these sacred motifs within the context of newsprint, the work bridges past and present, proposing a shift in how we view African epistemologies: not as relics, but as active forces woven into our daily lives.

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