Sare yalo sona sefofu
The title of this work Sare yalo sona sefofu, loosely translated means ‘so says the blind man’ is a Setswana gospel hymn that speaks about finding healing through sight. This mixed medium work speaks to notions of place, healing, re-imagined spaces and the black queer body. It questions the relationships between fantasy, Spirituality and belonging through manipulating, constructing and deconstructing used mattress covers that I collect in Alexandra. I challenge these notions of time, place and belonging by re-imagining this substrate and in doing so, the work offers me a space to heal the trauma of being a queer body from the township and allows for me to reclaim the space as a queer body.
About Neo Diseko
Neo Diseko is a Johannesburg based visual artist. Diseko obtained their National Diploma in Fine Art (2016) and a BTech (2017) at the University of Johannesburg. Their artistic practice explores themes around the performativity of gender and its multiple dimensions. Diseko explores these themes in various mediums including painting, installation, video and performance. They have participated in a number of group shows, competitions and workshops including the 2019 Talent Unlocked with Assemblage Art and the 2018 ACBC with the Bag Factory and Art Source South Africa. In 2019 Diseko was shortlisted for the prestigious David Koloane Award and presented a performance piece titled ‘Inbetween’ at the Under_line Art Fair in Johannesburg.
