Ms Yonela Makoba (1993) was born and raised in the Eastern Cape, eMthatha. In 2012 she relocated to the Western Cape to study at the University of Cape Town. Upon completion of her undergraduate degree in Environmental and Geographic Science, she began working as an artist. The now multidisciplinary artist began her career as a fashion and hair stylist and has since ventured into fine art photography, performance art, sculpture, video art and printmaking.

In the years since 2016, she has participated in a number of group exhibitions in independent spaces as well as more established galleries and art fairs like the Association of Visual Arts Gallery, Ebony Curated and Latitudes Visual Art Fair. In February 2020, the artist had her first solo offering titled ‘Kwantlandlolo; a prayer for tabula rasa’ hosted by Orms upon completion of the Orms Circle Residency in the previous year. In October of 2020, she was one of 8 artist residents who took part in the Bodyland Residency in Hogsback, South Africa hosted by the Victory of the Word organisation.

My recent prints come out of my experience of being in the Hogsback area. “Thula thul thula baba, thula sana…” are the words of a lullaby sung to a crying child, telling them to stop crying as their mother is on the way and that all will be well. I think of lullabies as remedies for broken hearts and I employ the energy of lullabies as I meditate on the deaths that have occurred in this region. Acknowledging the need for mourning, for tears following and for the lullaby to echo and soothe the aching heart.

‘Uyafihla mhlaba’  is a phrase said after one remembers a person who has passed away. Speaking to the way that the earth covers/hides all, how we move on and how things look ‘normal’ even though your loved one has passed. This print is a space for remembering.