Artist's statement on materials and process

Through my art I investigate and interrogate stereotypical ideals of the female form, as well as notions of femininity. The pains that many women, including myself, have subjected themselves to in order to conform to society-dictated norms have greatly informed my work to date. My decision to make work using the medium of cowhide additionally allows for the questioning of conventional art materials and products.

My work explores aspects of control through the manipulation and shaping of cowhide into the desired form. Elements of this organic material, such as the hair, fat and smell, allow for engagement with ideas of attraction and repulsion.

I believe that practical experience and a ‘hands on’ approach are the best ways to learn. My work is always greatly informed and influenced by the process of its making. My journey begins with the process of sorting through piles of salted cowhide for the perfect one. In the past I’ve had the hides tanned for me, but this time I purchased a home tanning kit comprising various different chemicals. Unfortunately the instructions in the kit didn’t adequately prepare me for the next step: power tooling my way through thick layers of fat which need to be removed – a thoroughly nauseating process! After this the hide has to soak in a chemical bath for a week. I then stretch it over my mould – a combination of casts taken from my own body and the limbs of store mannequins, joined together using cretestone and resin. I have to really pull, stretch and nail down the hide so that it takes on the desired shape, but natural forces also play a part in the final result. Finally once it’s dry I use a polyester mesh and resin to secure the shape.

The textures and smells I experienced during this process affirmed over and over again my choice of being a vegetarian. Then I decided to incorporate bones into the work, and my mind recoiled at the thought of the ‘hands on’ experience of eating piles of meat. I decided to send out a call for bones to all who cared and was pleasantly surprised by offerings of a dead snake and bones from wild dogs, lambs, cows and chicken. Some of these had to be boiled to get rid of the meat, or dissected in the case of the snake, which has the most beautiful, delicate spine and ribs.

The bones are aesthetically complemented by the inclusion of strings of white glass beads. White beads are worn by Masai women who make their own necklaces as a reflection of beauty and skill. Throughout this process I’ve concentrated on ideas of beauty. People often comment on the fact that I have very little hair on my body and this is seen to be appealing or desirable; people also like the softness of women’s skin. I was trying to challenge this by creating feminine forms that are both beautiful and hairy.

Biography

Born in Pretoria in 1982, Mntambo has a BA Fine Art from the University of Cape Town (2004) and is currently an MA candidate at the same institution. She is the recipient of the 2005 Brett Kebble Art Awards Curatorial Fellowship. She has exhibited at the Michaelis School of Fine Art and the Centre for African Studies at UCT.

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