Reading Jennifer Tosch

In response to Buhlebezwe Siwani’s solo exhibition “ulwela amaza” Jennifer Tosch wrote the essay “Looking in the Mirror of ulwela amaza by Buhlebezwe Siwani”. The beautiful written essay really gives you some deep insights and we advice you to read it , especially when you have been unable to visit the exhibition.

“Art is not simply an aesthetic endeavor; it is a space of struggle, remembrance, repair, and possibility. It allows us to reckon with the past while imagining new futures. Through storytelling, ritual, and performance, we can reclaim lost narratives and restore dignity to those whom history has forgotten, ignored or erased.

ulwela amaza is an invitation—a call to look deeper, to engage more fully, to refuse the easy distance of historical abstraction. It challenges us to ask: What do we choose to remember? And how do we ensure that the voices of the past continue to shape our collective consciousness? Through Siwani’s work, we are reminded that history is not behind us; it is with us, shaping who we are and who we might become.”

The essay is commissioned by ROZENSTRAAT and you can read it here.