Senzeni Marasela

SENZENI MARASELA is a cross-disciplinary artist who explores photography, video, prints, and mixed-medium installations involving textiles and embroidery. Her work deals with history, memory, and personal narrative, emphasising historical gaps and overlooked figures. Senzeni specifically focuses on the experiences of black South African womanhood and the impact of apartheid legacy.

Born in 1977 in Thokoza, Senzeni Marasela lives and works in Soweto, South Africa. She graduated from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in 1998, and shortly thereafter completed a residency at the Iziko South African National Gallery. This culminated in her work for the Gallery’s Fresh exhibition series. Marasela’s work has been widely exhibited in South Africa, Europe, and the United States.

Her work features in prominent local and international public collections including the Newark Museum, Smithsonian Institution and MoMA in New York. Senzeni’s work also features in private collections such as the Leridon collection in Paris, the Harry David collection in Athens, and the Sindika Dokolo collection in Angola. She was part of the 56th Johannesburg Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2015). Her solo exhibitions include Waiting for Gebane (Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art, Cape Town: 2020 - 2021); Waiting for Gebane: Dolly Parton (Toffee Gallery, Darling: 2018); Sarah, Theodorah and Senzeni in Johannesburg (Art on Paper, Johannesburg: 2011); Beyond Booty: Covering Sarah Baartman and other Tales (Axis Gallery, New York: 2010); “Oh my God you look like shit. Who let you out of the house looking like that?” (solo performance, Sternersen Museum, Oslo, 2009); JONGA – Look at Me! A Museum of Women, Dolls and Memories (Devon Arts Residency, 2009); Three Women, Three Voices (Johannesburg Art Gallery: 2004); Fresh (South African National Gallery, Cape Town: 2000).