Description

In uBuhle boKhokho, Zizipho Poswa presents a profound visual and sculptural exploration of Black womanhood through the sacred art of hairstyling. Drawing from traditions deeply rooted across the African continent and its diaspora, Poswa honours the intricate language of hair — a form of expression that is at once domestic, ritualistic, and profoundly political.

Through this body of work, she interweaves personal memory with collective history, situating herself within a lineage of Black women who have long used hair as a site of self-definition, resilience, and creative mastery. The title, meaning “The Beauty of Our Ancestors,” speaks to this continuum — one where beauty is not dictated but affirmed, not inherited passively but actively reimagined.

The book includes rich photographic documentation of the exhibition, behind-the-scenes glimpses into the studio process, and thoughtful reflections from Poswa and contributing writers. Together, they trace the spiritual and aesthetic significance of hair as both adornment and archive, offering readers a moving portrait of tradition reinterpreted through contemporary ceramic form.

uBuhle boKhokho is a tribute – tactile, towering, and tender – to the beauty rituals that have shaped generations and continue to evolve with grace and power.