rising I, 2026
Clay monotype
100 x 70 cm
R 23,000.00 (Unframed)
SOLD
rising III, 2026
Clay monotype
100 x 70 cm
R 23,000.00 (Unframed)
SOLD
Process
The Rising Sun Series
by Yonela Makoba
The circumference of soil grounds the space. Inner circuits are constructed intuitively, similar to a childhood game. These soil constellations determine the “rules” of the space, how energy moves. In one iteration, three circles are drawn, each zone or circle to its own temporality. And yet there are no real “rules”. This is the innocence of childhood at play and search. It is re-imagining and re-imprinting itself on the idea of a geographic reality, bodies in ritual, young and old, moving through the sediments of time, in our own space.
by Yonela Makoba
The circumference of soil grounds the space. Inner circuits are constructed intuitively, similar to a childhood game. These soil constellations determine the “rules” of the space, how energy moves. In one iteration, three circles are drawn, each zone or circle to its own temporality. And yet there are no real “rules”. This is the innocence of childhood at play and search. It is re-imagining and re-imprinting itself on the idea of a geographic reality, bodies in ritual, young and old, moving through the sediments of time, in our own space.
There is a kind of ancient magic about Yonela Makoba’s work. Deeply rooted in both ritual and land, their practice is a deeply considered and embodied one. This series of Rising Sun prints draw on the earth—both for inspiration and, quite literally, with it. The natural pigments of clay and ochre in these prints connect us to the oldest iterations of art and ritual that we know of. Makoba’s work, too, exists at this intersection.
The concept of iTi , meaning ‘tea’, appeared first in their Master’s performance. Softly defined as ‘a ceremony to honour and give thanks to matriarchs and womb-bearing beings’, ‘tea time’ is a space carved out for the strengthening of bonds and the transfer of knowledge across generations. iTi can also be understood as iteration and how it is embodied—in art, in nature and in spiritual practice.
This series is a further exploration and reworking of an original experiential installation and performance, itself a series of iterations. Each print is a small ritual, a learning, a record of knowledge and of the hands that made it.
Biography
Yonela Makoba photographed by Retha Ferguson.
Yonela Makoba is a transdisciplinary artist. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Geographic Science and a Master’s degree in Theatre and Performance from the University of Cape Town. Her practice encompasses photography, performance art, installation, mixed media, and printmaking, engaging deeply with themes of memory, indigenous knowledge systems, and the body. Makoba’s research investigates the intersections of personal and collective memory through an autoethnographic lens.
Notable projects include iTi Ritual Studies, a multi-sensory exploration of rituals centered on ‘tea’, reimagining the ‘women’s space’ and honouring the archive of women’s knowledge. This work combines movement, symbolism, and listening to sacred knowledge to create transformative spaces for remembering.
Makoba’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows and is held in the collections of the Iziko National Museum and the University of Cape Town. Her art interrogates and reconfigures narratives of belonging, memory, and transformation, bridging past, present, and future.
Notable projects include iTi Ritual Studies, a multi-sensory exploration of rituals centered on ‘tea’, reimagining the ‘women’s space’ and honouring the archive of women’s knowledge. This work combines movement, symbolism, and listening to sacred knowledge to create transformative spaces for remembering.
Makoba’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows and is held in the collections of the Iziko National Museum and the University of Cape Town. Her art interrogates and reconfigures narratives of belonging, memory, and transformation, bridging past, present, and future.