What kind of Imagery and symbolism has she used?

As previously stated, the main focus of Stuntman's narrative works are women and she therefore relies on a lot of imagery which will depict the various aspects of created womenhood in order to express her narrative. 

Figure 26 Figure 27 Barbara Stutman, (1996) Stacking Reality Brooch. [ONLINE]

In her series entitled "Stacking Realities",  as seen above; she has created a womanlike figurine with a tray attached to her. 

Figure 28 Stutman, B (1993). One Being Female. Brooch [ONLINE]

Her work is a creative collection which uses a vast number of imageries all centred on that specific subject matter. An example of this is the 4 part brooch taken from her "One Being Female" series. With these Brooches, she has incorporated the use of tampons alongside fine silver, Spandex, colouredcopper wire, brass and copper. 

Figure 29 Stutman, B. (1998) It’s a girl! 2 Fine silver and coloured copper ring. [ONLINE]

She sometimes also used shoes, specifically high hills in order to mock media for their false idea of their ideal women.

As seen in the three examples provided, she has relied on the usage of various imagery based on the specific subject matter, but all pertaining to  women. 

ILobola/ bride price

The practice of paying lobola or dowry is one which is regarded as an integral part of many African marriages; it is, in fact, a practice which is not limited or exclusive to African cultures but is part of other cultures in the world such as the Indian culture and the Jewish people, who refer to it as dowry  (Gullapalli, 2009) (Liebenberg,n.d.).

 

Figure 1 Tina, T. (2018) Three uncles negotiating lobola. [ONLINE] ^[1]

1. Positives

The importance of the payment of the bridal price is seen as an act of respect for the bride and her family; as it is seen as a gesture of gratitude while also displaying his fidelity and commitment to his bride and also displaying good care of her by proving that he values her. Contrary to many false beliefs, the bride price is not a payment of the daughter nor is it the purchase of a bride, it is, however, a gesture which displayed the man would be capable of providing for the bride and that he and his family were people of substance (Magubane, 2001). Also, it was a security bond posted by or on behalf of the bridegroom as a pledge of good treatment; a man was not likely to abandon such a substantial investment, and in most societies, if a divorce resulted because of abuse and ill-treatment, all or most of the lobola was forfeited.

 

Since lobola is a gesture most families do not require the full payment to be made before marriage as it is believed that since no true price can be placed on their priceless daughter. A man can never fully pay lobola but is however responsible to make payments (for a lack of word) to the family for life. These payments come in the form of making sure that the needs and wants of the bride’s family are taken care of when they arise, these thus count as the bottomless lobola price the husband is to pay for the daughter he has taken as a wife (Ngema, 2013).

  i.            Negatives

Although meant to be a gesture of gratitude and a symbol that the daughter will be well taken care of; like many things within society this practice has been abused and the process has been polluted by many people to satisfy their own personal desires and interests. These have been done through the demand of a bridal price which is beyond the means of what the man can afford, or in some cases families may require the man to pay an amount which is too high as the family considers their own personal needs and wants.

In other instances, the process becomes tainted as the daughter becomes a bargaining chip or even an object to be sold to the highest bidder and her family disregards what is in the best interest of their daughter to make money off her marriage. An example of such cases would be the process or the marriage which is the result of ukuthwala (bridal abduction).

Another way the best interest of the bride does not play a key factor is when the family forces her to marry for money or status rather than to marry for love. This type of marriage is then regarded as forced marriage, rather than arranged marriage.

The payment of lobola has been one of the many factors within the African native cultures which has aided in the difficulty of divorce. With a process so flawed and ungoverned by neither law nor many restrictions besides what families decide is just and fair payment, should such a practice be found to be relevant in this contemporary and liberal world we live in? It actually should still be practiced as there are several consequences that are directly linked to the refusal to partake in the practice. One of these being that the couple may not be fully received by both families if they do not choose to adhere or observe important cultural practices. The wife may be ostracized by other family members of the husband’s family and may not be considered a true makoti within the family.

The rope version

Figure 1: Ndongeni, S (2018). Suicide by Rope neckpiece.

For this version of the series, I had made several neckpieces which as stated were created from actual rope, which were then tried as a noose to be worn around the neck.

Figure 2: Ndongeni, S (2018). Suicide by Rope neckpiece.

In order to tie the poetry and the actual pieces, I had decided to use flowery image once again, as it would depict this young flower (a girl), which never got to bloom into the woman she was meant to become.

Figure3: Ndongeni, S. Suicide by rope type 2. 

In figure 2, I had decided to use red beads when making some of the items as these would also indicate the poured out blood.

Figure 4: Ndongeni, S. Suicide by rope type 3. 

The small purple figurines in figure 3 and 4 are meant to be representative of girls who were kidnapped or forced into marriage before turning 18 years, which is why I chose to use 18 headless figurines.  This concept is similar to that of Stutman, who had used crocheted female figurines to represent women. I also found that it would help create an irony of sorts, as Xhosa dolls/ figurines are usually given to females as charms rather than a representation of their death. 

Figure 5:: Ndongeni, S. Suicide by rope type 3, beaded elements.