sebidi - rural scene, 1972, oil on canvas monet, japanese bridge

Sebidi - Rural Scene, 1972, oil on canvas

Monet, Japanese Bridge

Sebidi, From the Lands carrying food, 197

Sebidi, Tears of Africa , 1988 Charcoal & collage on Paper

Picasso, Les Demoiselles D’Avignon

Sebidi, The child’s mother holds the sharp side of the Knife

•This artwork is mural scale in pastel

•Theme = perpetuation of traditional values & sebidi questions her own role as a woman in SA society

•Circular movement is created by the large family group- mother figure = fulcrum - isolated by her large scale, position & clarity of form

•She is pulling at her tradition - represented by the chain that projects beyond the picture space, but is attached to her breast ( the source of nourishment to the next generation)

•Sebidi in this artwork comments on the conflicting pull of past & present values ( of spiritual & materialistic values)

•The sharp side of the knife - refers to the fact that women have to bear the brunt of most of this responsibility.

Sebidi, In the end Women Handle it,

Sebidi, Mother Africa, 1988, pastel and collage on Paper.

This artwork is about the woman who is left behind while her husband goes to the city to work. “The woman is carrying the cross. She loves him even though he has dropped her. She works, she cooks, she does everything. How she is struggling. What was supposed to be gained has been destroyed”-Helen Sebidi

Sebidi,Where is my Home?-The mischief of the Township, 1988, Pastel & collage on paper

“Where do people belong? Not in their traditional home, and not in the city either.” -Helen Sebidi