Lorraine Kalassa

Embracing Bikwembe

In her ‘Embracing Bikwembe’ pinhole photograph series, Lorraine Kalassa captures herself in various outfits made from a traditional printed cotton wax fabric known as Bikwembe (the plural of Kikwembe) in Swahili. Living in South Africa, where xenophobia has been a persistent issue, the artist felt constrained in expressing her identity through clothing and speech. Traditional attire offered her a means to reconnect with her Congolese heritage. Her growing appreciation for clothing was further influenced by living with and observing her aunt, a professional dressmaker. This series was completed as part of Kalassa's first project at university.

About Lorraine Kalassa

Through an autoethnographic practice—primarily using personal reflexive writing to craft narratives related to broader social and cultural experiences—Lorraine Kalassa (b. 1998) explores themes of 'otherness.' Her focus is on understanding notions of home as someone born in South Africa with Congolese ancestry. Kalassa is deeply fascinated by her family photo archive and the memories held within her mother’s mind. She is also intrigued by how relationships with land and place shape identity and culture. Revisiting her ancestral archives has become a crucial aspect of her work, serving as a form of pilgrimage and time travel to her origins. Using various media, Kalassa reflects on cracks in identity, landscape, and policies to weave together ancestral fragments as a means of remembrance and healing. She holds a Fine Arts degree from the Michaelis School of Fine Arts and an Honours degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Cape Town.

Recent works