Tuli Mekondjo

Tuli Mekondjo ( b.1982,Kwanza-Sul, Angola) is a self-taught Namibian artist who is the recipient of the prestigious Villa Romana Prize, 2024. Mekondjo was a recipient of the DAAD Artist-in-Berlin Program in 2022. Tuli Mekondjo was shortlisted for the Norval Sovereign Africa art prize 2022/2023. In her work, Mekondjo explores the construction of identity politics in the shadow of Namibia’s violent past as both a German and later South African colony. She uses a variety of media including natural silks, embroidery, photo-transfer, soil, paint, resin and mahangu (millet) grain, a staple food in Namibia, to reframe imagery from historical photographs from both the German colonial period (1884-1919) and subsequent occupation by South Africa. Mekondjo’s multi layered works result from a process of both literal and figurative burial and retrieval, and draw heavily on photographic representations of indigenous Namibian people from multiple ethnic groups.

Drawing on histories of change, loss and submission- particularly when it comes to women- she stitches between past and present. She pays homage to her forebears, fertility and continuity, whilst commenting on gendered struggle, intergenerational trauma and displacement. In many resent work, the artist positions herself in dialogue with her ancestors, directly acknowledging their pain, whilst referencing multiple African folklore traditions. Spirituality is an increasingly important element in her work, and Mekondjo extends her textured media into performance.

Mekondjo, whose name means “we are in the struggle”, was born in Angola to Namibian parents who joined SWAPO (South West Africa Peoples’ Organisation) in exile in the early 1980s. She has exhibited widely in Namibia, South Africa, France, the United States, Hong Kong and Germany. In 2022 she became the first black Namibian woman ever to exhibit in the United States, where she is co-represented by Hales. In 2023, her work was shown at Frieze London, Art Central Hong Kong, EXPO Chicago, ARCO Lisboa and Art Joburg. She is represented in multiple international collections.