Textiles as testimony: Stitching together stories of struggle, survival and gendered history

As you enter the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria, you see a towering wooden sculpture standing there, making its presence known. 

It is a beautifully crafted sculpture commemorating the women who marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria in 1956 to protest the oppressive, inhumane pass laws.  

It is symbolic of the perpetual silencing and “invisibilising” of women and their role in society. 

Crafted several years ago by artist Noria Mabasa, the sculpture...