Ga Bose Gangwe
Mohau Modisakeng, South African, born 1986
2014
Single channel HD video
9/10 (Edition of 10 + 2 AP)
Duration: 129 seconds (2.15 minutes)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Sondra and Charles Gilman Jr., Foundation Fund
© Mohau Modisakeng
2022.41ab
Geography
Place Made: South Africa, Africa
Period
21st century
Object Name
Time Based Media
Research Area
Time Based Media
Africa
Not on view
Label
Mohau Modisakeng was born in Soweto in 1986, as uprisings and activism brought South African apartheid to an end. Growing up during this transitional period, the artist witnessed the aspirations of Black South Africans for a post-colonial nation and the negative effects of global power structures on the reformed country. In this video, the movements of the men are a metaphor for the struggle of Black South Africans to overcome colonialism and achieve national liberation. Their ascending gestures, which never reach fulfi llment, encapsulate the hopes, determination, and frustrations of post-colonial nations. The title of the video, Ga Bose Gangwe, is taken from a Setswana (a Bantu language spoken in Southern Africa) proverb, phiri o rile ga bo se gangwe, that translates to "Better luck next time" or "Do or try again." From the 2023 exhibition Mohau Modisakeng: Ga bose gangwe, curated by Alisa Swindell, Associate Curator of Photography
Provenance
Jenkins Johnson Gallery, Brooklyn, New York; sold to present collection, 2022.
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