Queer African Narratives of Memory and Identity Brought to Life Through the ‘Ne Keo Gopotse’ Exhibition
Banana Club Founder Tanlume Enyatseng taking guests through the exhibition
“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.” – James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time (1963)
The ‘Ne Keo Gopotse’ exhibition, held from October 4th to 7th, 2024, in Gaborone, was a ground-breaking showcase of queer African narratives. Organised by the Banana Club Artist Fund (BCAF) in collaboration with We Don’t Settle (WDS), this exhibition featured a dynamic array of talent from Botswana and South Africa. Curated by the 2024 Banana Club Artist in Residence, Mbako Kago Moemise, ‘Ne Keo Gopotse’ served as a precursor to Botswana’s Pride celebrations, delving into the themes of memory, identity, and the audacity of queer joy.
Set within Moemise’s family home—a bold choice symbolising the importance of safety and affirmation for queer African bodies—the exhibition sought to challenge the traditional confines of gallery spaces. The intimate setting encouraged a deeper dialogue between art, artist, and viewer, creating an environment where queer narratives were centred and celebrated. Each artist in the exhibition contributed to a collective vision, offering a unique lens into the lives of queer Africans navigating both personal and political realities.
Mbako Kago Moemise: Curating Through Collage and Memory
Mbako Kago Moemise guiding visitors through the exhibition. Photographer: Mosako Chalashika
Mbako Kago Moemise not only curated ‘Ne Keo Gopotse’, but also contributed his own series of collages exploring the intersections of Catholicism, African spirituality, body dysmorphia, and queer identity. His work presented an exploration of how the queer body navigates religious and cultural expectations, while grappling with personal perceptions of physical form.
In Moemise’s pieces, fragmented images and textures create a layered narrative, reflecting the complexities of queer African identity. His collages act as a visual metaphor for the ways in which bodies—particularly queer bodies—are often seen as fragmented, misaligned with societal norms. Through his layered collages, Moemise questioned how memory is constructed, particularly within spaces that have historically excluded or erased queer narratives. His work examined the ways in which the queer body negotiates religious and cultural identities, creating a space where these intersections can coexist without conflict.
Moemise’s curatorial statement posed the question, “How do we remember being cared for, and the intimacies that this holds?” His collage work, a blend of mixed media and archival material, invited the viewer to interrogate memory as a political act. Drawing from James Baldwin’s words on love and masks, Moemise’s art laid bare the vulnerability and strength inherent in queer existence. His work framed memory as a personal recollection and a collective experience of care, resistance, and survival.
Modisa Motsumi: Sculpting Grief and Public Intimacy
Modisa Motsumi. Photographer: Mosako Chalashika
Modisa Motsumi’s contribution to the exhibition consisted of a wall-based sculpture that initiated powerful conversations about grief and the boundaries between public and private spaces. His work featured three life-sized moulds of his own face, peeking through a casket of flowers and thread. Reminiscent of the ancient practice of creating death masks, Motsumi’s piece captured the macabre nature of memorialisation, holding onto fleeting moments of remembrance.
The casket-like arrangement symbolised the fragility of life, while the moulds of his face expressed a sense of intimacy and personal reflection. Through this work, Motsumi asked viewers to consider the spaces in which queer people are allowed to mourn and remember—challenging the distinctions between public and private grief.
Kim Karabo Makin: Unearthing Forgotten Histories Through Sound and Sculpture
Kim Karabo Makin’s wall installation. A mix of ceramics and sound sculptures. Photographer: Mosako Chalashika
Kim Karabo Makin’s work pushed the boundaries of sensory experience, utilising sound and sculpture to explore memory and the passage of time. In her sound installation, Makin unearthed archives long lost to collective memory. She incorporated clippings from a Radio Botswana broadcast covering the South African Defence Force’s (SANDF) bombing of several neighbourhoods in Botswana during the apartheid era when the country was a haven for anti-apartheid resistance artists.
The installation, running for approximately three minutes every 15 minutes, resonated throughout the exhibition space, reminding viewers of the traumas buried in Botswana’s political history. The soundscape created a temporal shift, forcing viewers to confront forgotten histories, while the sculptural element—rooted in a three-dimensional experience—captured the weight of time and memory.
Eileen Khan: Photography of Care and Matriarchal Strength
Film Photography by Eileen Khan. Photographer: Mosako Chalashika
Eileen Khan’s photography in ‘Ne Keo Gopotse’ offered an intimate exploration of matriarchal archetypes and the quiet power of care. Her work centered on a portrait of her grandmother brushing a child’s hair—a deeply rooted practice that symbolises nurturing and love. Through her lens, Khan brought to life the intricacies of personhood and the ways in which we seek out and create their own modes of care.
Khan’s photography grappled with the notion of being cared for in both literal and metaphorical senses. The portrait of her grandmother was a visual ode to the quiet rituals of domesticity and the care practices that are passed down through generations. In doing so, Khan showcased the enduring power of matriarchal figures and their influence on how queer bodies are held and nurtured within familial spaces.
Thulaganyo Sekati: Recontextualising Tradition in a Lace Dress
Guests in one of the rooms dedicated to Thulaganyo Sekati’s presentation. Photographer: Mosako Chalashika
Thulaganyo Sekati’s contribution to the exhibition was a lace dress worn by a distressed mannequin—an intricate reimagining of a leisure tunic traditionally worn by mothers and grandmothers. The dress, constructed from the pattern of a tunic once worn by Sekati’s grandmother, was lined with power-broad shoulder pads and cinched with a Victorian-style corset. This sculptural work stood tall, its towering presence confronting the audience as they entered the room.
Sekati’s dress represented a potent recontextualisation of traditional feminine attire, repurposing it into a symbol of resistance and authority. The triple-panel corset and shoulder pads created an imposing figure, reasserting the garment’s power and agency. Through this work, Sekati addressed the complexities of gender, identity, and familial inheritance while offering a bold commentary on how queer bodies can reframe and reclaim tradition.
Olebogeng Esemang: Mourning Through Setswana Tradition
Olebogeng Esemang painting. Photographer: Mosako Chalashika
Olebogeng Esemang’s work was a meditation on grief, memory, and the cultural significance of loss. Their triptych paid homage to traditional Setswana mourning practices, using painting to delve into the emotional landscape of grief. Esemang’s use of negative space and soft, muted tones created an atmosphere of solitude, reflecting the isolation often felt in moments of mourning.
However, their work also celebrated the collective nature of grief, drawing on Setswana customs to illustrate how communities come together in times of loss. Esemang’s pieces engaged in a conversation about how queer individuals, who are often marginalised even in death, navigate the cultural rites of mourning. Their work invited viewers to consider how art can serve as a vessel for healing and remembrance, particularly for those excluded from traditional mourning spaces.
‘Ne Keo Gopotse’ was a profound reminder of the importance of memory, care, and resilience in queer African communities. Through a combination of sculpture, sound, photography, and painting, the exhibition created a space where queer narratives were not just visible, but celebrated. The collective power of the works by Moemise, Motsumi, Makin, Khan, Sekati, and Esemang left an indelible mark on viewers, illustrating that queer African existence is both vulnerable and unyielding.
In reimagining history and identity, ‘Ne Keo Gopotse’ illuminated the power of art to serve as a medium for preserving, mourning, and celebrating queer lives. As James Baldwin’s words echo through the exhibition, it is clear that love, memory, and authenticity are acts of resistance—and through this powerful exhibition, queer African artists affirmed their place in the broader narrative of survival and joy.
Tanlume Enyatseng is a journalist and cultural entrepreneur with over eight years of experience at the crossroads of public relations, cultural production, creative direction, and social media content strategy for art and culture. As the founder of Banana Emoji Studio, his practice is rooted in making art more accessible through innovative storytelling and data-driven approaches. Tanlume founded and contributed to Banana Club, a queer artistic collective that creates spaces for dialogue through contemporary art. He was recently awarded the 2023/2024 Writer in Residence at Photoworks UK and sat as a judge for the 2024 Portrait of Humanity photography award by The British Journal of Photography.
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