Mary Sibande recently collaborated with designer, Palesa Mokubung, founder of Mantsho, to create Sophie at the Opera - Dressed in Mantsho. The centre of Sibande's practice is her iconic figure of Sophie. Sibande's work tells the tale of Sophie as she journeys from a role of servitude to a refuge of dreams. Through this character, Sibande explores the construction of identity in post-Apartheid South Africa. Once rooted in the humble attire of domestic service, in this show, Sophie stands resplendent in couture, embodying the triumph of reimagined narratives and the audacity of Black women’s dreams. 

Read more about the exhibition here

Mary Sibande (b. 1982, South Africa)

Mary Sibande currently lives and works in Johannesburg. She obtained an Honours degree from the University of Johannesburg in 2007, following a Diploma in Fine Arts from the Witwatersrand Technical College, South Africa, in 2005. Sibande’s work engages counter-historical narratives and the language of dress to animate the stories of South African women and critique western imperialist depictions of their lives. Drawing heavily from fashion design, she uses colour symbolism and coded motifs to construct her characters' identities. Working primarily in large-scale installation and photography, Sibande introduces viewers to her alter ego, Sophie, whose evolving form pays tribute to the lives of her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother under apartheid. Though Sophie's attire references domestic servitude, Sibande reimagines her in a richly symbolic, dreamlike realm of empowerment and transformation.

Read more about the artist here and Sibande's work at Everard Read London.