Abstract
M.Tech. (Fine Art)
This research offers an analysis of anthropomorphism and therianthropism in selected artworks
by Colbert Mashile (b. 1972) and Nandipha Mntambo (b. 1982). I inquire into their different
approaches to the representation of human-animal relationships, focusing on the two artists’
sociocultural backgrounds, use of mythologies, narratives, media and art-making strategies.
The contextual framework for this exploration of anthropomorphism and therianthropism is
posthumanist theory.
An analysis of Mashile’s and Mntambo’s artworks reveals how current therianthropic and
anthropomorphic manifestations are individualistic and shaped by the artists’ backgrounds
and approaches to their media and personal myths – that is, invented stories or concepts that
function as a mode of making sense of human life experiences. Explorations of
therianthropism and anthropomorphism in this research are based on prevailing aesthetic
practices of black South African artists as a means to understand perspectives on identity.
This enables me to consider Mashile’s and Mntambo's works in a different light to previous
writers while also contributing to the development of concepts and ideas pertinent to my own
practice.
The study includes an explanation of the choice and treatment of imagery in linocut prints and
ceramics I made as part of this degree submission. Revealing the relationship between my
works and those of Mashile and Mntambo, I explore my art practice in light of oral traditions
where human-animal forms feature as mechanisms for making sense of human experience.