“It's almost like you become an intercessor of particular stories, where your responsibility is to illuminate certain histories. But also, one of the things that I've learned with this form of working is to do with how one is named, really. My name is Sikhumbuzo Sizwe Makandula. My two names ‘Sikhumbuzo Sizwe’ speaks to: be the one who reminds the nation."

We dive into two works by visual and performance artist Sikhumbuzo Makandula, Ingqumbo (2016) and Ingoma ka Tiyo Soga (2018-2019), to interrogate the areas of academic and artistic enquiry that have shaped – and which continue to propel – his deeply layered artistic practice: the violence of the missionary agenda in South Africa and its lasting effects, how to negotiate the intersecting influences of Christianity and African spirituality, and the necessity of excavating silenced historical narratives.

“The work really starts with music, before I even get to the image,” Makandula explains – and this powerful soundscape that inspires his work and fills his performances also threads its way through our conversation as we journey between Makandula’s art studio, the South African National Gallery, and the Eastern Cape town of Makhanda.

The ICA Podcast is a creation of the Institute for Creative Arts (ICA) at the University of Cape Town. Produced and edited by Catherine Boulle.

Read more about the ICA and the vision for the podcast: http://www.ica.uct.ac.za/ica/podcast/abouttheicapodcast.